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COLLECTION 

OF    VICTORIAN    BOOKS 

AT 

BRIGHAM    YOUNG 


Victorian 

914.21 

T48c 

1866 

vol.1 


UNIVERSITY 


BRIGHAM  YOUNG  UNIVERSITY 


3  1197  22902  7989 


CLUB  LIFE  OF  LONDON. 


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CLUB  LIFE  OF  LONDON 


WITH 


ANECDOTES  OF  THE  CLUBS,  COFFEE-HOUSES 
AND  TAVERNS  OF  THE  METROPOLIS 

DURING  THE  17th,  18th,  AND  19th  CENTURIES. 
By  JOHN   TIMBS,  F.S.A. 


Beef- steak  Society's  Emblem. 


IN   TWO  VOLUMES.  — VOL.  I. 


LONDON: 

RICHARD  BENTLEY,  NEW  BURLINOTON  STREET 

^Jublisfjer  i<x  ©roittarg  to  p?cr  Majestg. 

1866. 


FEINTED  BY 

JOHN  EDWAED   TAYLOE,    LITTLE   QUEEN  STEEET, 

LINCOLN'S   INN   FIELDS. 


mm  THE  Uppa*>v 

BKfSHAM  YOUI 

ERQYO,  UTAH 


"•sjry 


upb 


CONTENTS. 


Page 

origin  or  clubs 1 

MEEMAID  CLUB 8 

APOLLO  CLUB 10 

EARLY  POLITICAL  CLUBS 15 

OCTOBER  CLUB  , 17 

SATURDAY  AND  BROTHERS  CLUBS 19 

SCRIBLERUS  CLUB 23 

calves'  HEAD  CLUB  . 25 

king's  head  club 35 

street  clubs 38 

the  mohocks '..'. 39 

blasphemous  clubs 1 44 

mug-house  clubs 45 

kit-kat  club 55 

tatler's  club  in  shire-lane 63 

royal  society  club , 65 


x>i  CONTENTS. 

Page 
COVENTRY,    ERECTHEUM,    AND    PARTHENON    CLUBS        .       .       .    305 

ANTIQUARIAN    CLUBS, — THE    NOVIOMAGIANS 308 

THE    ECCENTRICS 307 

DOUGLAS    JERROLD'S    CLUBS 308 

CHESS    CLUBS 313 

APPENDIX. 

almack's 31(3 

clubs  at  the  thatched  house 318 

kit-kat  club 319 

watier's  club 320 

CLUBS    OF  1814 321 

V 

GAMING-HOUSES    KEPT    BY    LADIES 323 


PREFACE. 


Pictures  of  the  Social  Life  of  the  Metropolis  during 
the  last  two  centuries  are  by  no  means  rare.  We  pos- 
sess them  in  Diaries,  Memoirs,  and  Correspondence,  in 
almost  countless  volumes,  that  sparkle  with  humour 
and  gaiety,  alternating  with  more  serious  phases, — poli- 
tical or  otherwise, — according  to  the  colour  and  com- 
plexion, and  body  of  the  time.  Of  such  pictures  the 
most  attractive  are  Clubs. 

Few  attempts  have,  however,  been  made  to  focus  the 
Club-life  of  periods,  or  to  assemble  with  reasonable 
limits,  the  histories  of  the  leading  Associations  of  club- 
bable Men, — of  Statesmen  and  Politicians,  Wits  and 
Poets,  Authors,  Artists,  and  Actors,  and  "men  of  wit 
and  pleasure,"  which  the  town  has  presented  since  the 
days  of  the  Restoration ;  or  in  more  direct  succession, 
from  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne,  and  the  days  of  the 
Tatler  and  Spectator,  and  other  Essayists  in  their  wake. 


vi  PREFACE. 

The  present  Work  aims  to  record  this  Club-life  in 
a  series  of  sketches  of  the  leading  Societies,  in  which, 
without  assuming  the  gravity  of  history  or  biography, 
sufficient  attention  is  paid  to  both  to  give  the  several 
narratives  the  value  of  trustworthiness.  From  the  mul- 
titude of  Clubs  it  has  been  found  expedient  to  make  a 
selection,  in  which  the  Author  has  been  guided  by  the 
popular  interest  attached  to  their  several  histories.  The 
same  principle  has  been  adopted  in  bringing  the  Work 
up  to  our  own  time,  in  which  the  customary  reticence 
in  such  cases  has  been  maintained. 

Of  interest  akin  to  that  of  the  Clubs  have  been  consi- 
dered scenes  of  the  Coffee-house  and  Tavern  Life  of  the 
period,  which  partake  of  a  greater  breadth  of  humour, 
and  are,  therefore,  proportionally  attractive,  for  these 
sections  of  the  Work.  The  antiquarianism  is  sparse,  or 
briefly  descriptive ;  the  main  object  being  personal  cha- 
racteristics, the  life  and  manners,  the  sayings  and  doings, 
of  classes  among  whom  conviviality  is  often  mixed  up 
with  better  qualities,  and  the  finest  humanities  are 
blended  with  the  gladiatorship  and  playfulness  of  wit 
and  humour. 

With  a  rich  store  of  materials  at  his  command,  the 
Author,  or  Compiler,  has  sought,  by  selection  and  con- 
densation, to  avoid  the  long-windedness  of  story-telling ; 
for  the  anecdote  should   be,  like   the  viand, — "'twere 


PKEFACE.  vii 

well  if  it  were  done  quickly."  Although  the  staple  of 
the  book  is  compiled,  the  experience  and  information 
which  the  Author  has  gathered  by  long  familiarity  with 
the  Metropolis  have  enabled  him  to  annotate  and  illus- 
trate in  his  own  progress,  notwithstanding  the  "lion's 
share  "  of  the  labour  is  duly  awarded  to  others. 

Thus,  there  are  grouped  in  the  present  volume 
sketches  of  One  Hundred  Clubs,  ranging  from  the 
Mermaid,  in  Bread-street,  to  the  Garrick,  in  Covent 
Garden.  Considering  the  mixed  objects  of  these  Clubs, 
though  all  belonging  to  the  convivial  or  jovial  system, 
strict  classification  was  scarcely  attainable :  hence  chro- 
nological sequence  has  been  adopted,  with  the  advantage 
of  presenting  more  connected  views  of  social  life  than 
could  have  been  gained  by  the  former  arrangement. 

The  Second  Volume  is  devoted  to  the  Coffee-house 
and  Tavern  Life,  and  presents  a  diversity  of  sketches, 
anecdotes,  and  reminiscences,  whose  name  is  Legion. 

To  the  whole  is  appended  a  copious  Index,  by  which 
the  reader  may  readily  refer  to  the  leading  subjects,  and 
multitudinous  contents  of  the  Work. 


CLUB  LIFE   OF  LONDON. 


ORIGIN  OF  CLUBS. 

The  Club,  in  the  general  acceptation  of  the  term,  may 

be  regarded  as  one  of  the  earliest  offshoots  of  Man's 

habitually  gregarious  and  social  inclination ;  and  as  an 

instance  of  that  remarkable  influence  which,  in  an  early 

stage  of  society,  the  powers  of  Nature  exercise  over  the 

fortunes  of  mankind.     It  may  not  be  traceable  to  the 

time 

"  When  Adam  dolve,  and  Eve  span  ;*' 

but,  it  is  natural  to  imagine  that  concurrent  with  the 
force  of  numbers  must  have  increased  the  tendency  of 
men  to  associate  for  some  common  object.  This  may 
have  been  the  enjoyment  of  the  staple  of  life;  for,  our 
elegant  Essayist,  writing  with  ages  of  experience  at  his 
beck,  has  truly  said,  ' '  all  celebrated  Clubs  were  founded 
upon  eating  and  drinking,  which  are  points  where  most 
men  agree,  and  in  which  the  learned  and  the  illiterate, 
the  dull  and  the  airy,  the  philosopher  and  the  buffoon, 
can  all  of  them  bear  a  part." 

VOL.  I.  B 


2  CLUB   LIFE    OF   LONDON. 

For  special  proof  of  the  antiquity  of  the  practice  it 
may  suffice  to  refer  to  the  polished  Athenians,  who  had, 
besides  their  general  symposia,  friendly  meetings,  where 
every  one  sent  his  own  portion  of  the  feast,  bore  a  pro- 
portionate part  of  the  expense,  or  gave  a  pledge  at  a 
fixed  price.  A  regard  for  clubbism  existed  even  in 
Lycurgan  Sparta :  the  public  tables  consisted  generally 
of  fifteen  persons  each,  and  all  vacancies  were  filled  up 
by  ballot,  in  which  unanimous  consent  was  indispensable 
for  election;  and  the  other  laws,  as  described  by  Plu- 
tarch, differ  but  slightly  from  those  of  modern  Clubs. 
Justus  Lipsius  mentions  a  bona  fide  Roman  Club,  the 
members  of  which  were  bound  by  certain  organized 
rules  and  regulations.  Cicero  records  (De  Senectute)  the 
pleasure  he  took  in  frequenting  the  meetings  of  those 
social  parties  of  his  time,  termed  confraternities,  where, 
according  to  a  good  old  custom,  a  president  was  ap- 
pointed ;  and  he  adds  that  the  principal  satisfaction  he 
received  from  such  entertainments,  arose  much  less  from 
the  pleasures  of  the  palate  than  from  the  opportunity 
thereby  afforded  him  of  enjoying  excellent  company  and 
conversation.* 

The  cognomen  Club  claims  descent  from  the  Anglo- 
Saxon;  for  Skinner  derives  it  from  clifian,  cleofian  (our 
cleave),  from  the  division  of  the  reckoning  among  the 
guests  around  the  table.  The  word  signifies  uniting  to 
divide,  like  clave,  including  the  correlative  meanings  to 
adhere  aud  to  separate.  "  In  conclusion,  Club  is  evi- 
dently, as  far  as  form  is  concerned,  derived  from  cleave  " 
(to  split),  but  in  signification  it  would  seem  to  be  more 
closely  allied  to  cleave  (to  adhere) .     It  is  not  suprising 

*  Sketch  of  the  Rise  and  Progress  of  the  Royal  Society  Club. 
1860.     (Not  published.) 


ORIGIN  OF   CLUBS.  3 

that  two  verbs,  identical  in  form   (in   Eng.)  and  con- 
nected in  signification,  should  sometimes  coalesce.* 

To  the  Friday- street  or  more  properly  Bread-street 
Club,  said  to  have  been  originated  by  Sir  Walter  Raleigh, 
was  long  assigned  the  priority  of  date  in  England ;  but 
we  have  an  instance  of  two  centuries  earlier.  In  the 
reign  of  Henry  IV.,  there  was  a  Club  called  "  La  Court 
de  bone  Compagnie,"  of  which  the  worthy  old  poet 
Occleve  was  a  member,  and  probably  Chaucer.  In  the 
works  of  the  former  are  two  ballads,  written  about  1413 ; 
one,  a  congratulation  from  the  brethren  to  Henry  Somer, 
on  his  appointment  of  the  Sub-Treasurer  of  the  Ex- 
chequer, and  who  received  Chaucer's  pension  for  him. 
In  the  other  ballad,  Occleve,  after  dwelling  on  some  of 
their  rules  and  observances,  gives  Somer  notice  that  he 
is  expected  to  be  in  the  chair  at  their  next  meeting,  and 
that  the  "  sty  ward"  has  warned  him  that  he  is 

"  for  the  dyner  array  e 
Ageyn  Thirsday  next,  and  nat  is  delaye." 

That  there  were  certain  conditions  to  be  observed  by 
this  Society,  appears  from  the  latter  epistle,  which  com- 
mences with  an  answer  to  a  letter  of  remonstrance  the 
"  Court "  has  received  from  Henry  Somer,  against  some 
undue  extravagance,  and  a  breach  of  their  rules. f  This 
Society  of  four  centuries  and  a  half  since  was  evidently 
a  jovial  company. 

*  Notes  and  Queries,  3rd  S.  i.  p.  295,  in  which  is  noted : — 
"  A  good  illustration  of  the  connexion  between  the  ideas  of  di- 
vision and  union  is  afforded  by  the  two  equivalent  words  partner 
and  associe,  the  former  pointing  especially  to  the  division  of 
profits,  the  latter  to  the  community  of  interests." 

t  Notes  and  Queries,  No.  234,  p.  383.  Communicated  by 
Mr.  Edward  Foss,  F.S.A. 

b  2 


4  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON. 

Still,  we  do  not  yet  find  the  term  "Club."  Mr. 
Carlyle,  in  his  History  of  Frederick  the  Great,  assumes 
that  the  vow  of  the  Chivalry  Orders — Gelubde — in  vogue 
about  a.d.  1190,  "passed  to  us  in  a  singularly  dwindled 
condition  :  Club  we  now  call  it."  To  this  it  is  objected 
that  the  mere  resemblance  in  sound  of  Gelubde  and 
Club  is  inconclusive,  for  the  Orders  of  Templars,  Hospi- 
tallers, and  Prussian  Knights,  were  never  called  clubs  in 
England  ;  and  the  origin  of  the  noun  need  not  be  sought 
for  beyond  its  verb  to  club,  when  persons  joined  in 
paying  the  cost  of  the  mutual  entertainment.  Moreover, 
Klubb  in  German  means  the  social  club  ;  and  that  word 
is  borrowed  from  the  English,  the  native  word  being 
Zeche,  which,  from  its  root  and  compound,  conveys  the 
idea  generally  of  joint  expenditure,  and  specially  in 
drinking.* 

About  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  or  the  beginning  of 
the  seventeenth  century,  there  was  established  the 
famous  Club  at  the  Mermaid  Tavern,  in  Bread-street, 
of  which  Shakspeare,  Beaumont,  Fletcher,  Raleigh,  S el- 
den,  Donne,  &c,  were  members.  Ben  Jonson  had  a 
Club,  of  which  he  appears  to  have  been  the  founder,  that 
met  at  the  Devil  Tavern,  between  Middle-Temple  gate 
and  Temple  Bar. 

Not  until  shortly  after  this  date  do  we  find  the  word 
Club.  Aubrey  says :  "  We  now  use  the  word  clubbefor 
a  sodality  in  a  taverne."  In  1659,  Aubrey  became  a 
member  of  the  Rota,  a  political  Club,  which  met  at  the 
Turk's  Head,  in  New  Palace  Yard  :  "  here  we  had,"  says 
Aubrey,  "  (very  formally)  a  balloting  box,  and  balloted 
how  things  should  be    carried,   by  way  of  Tentamens. 

*  Notes  and  Queries,  2nd  S.,  vol.  xii.  p.  386.  Communicated 
by  Mr.  Buckton. 


ORIGIN   OF   CLUBS.  5 

The  room  was  every  evening  as  full  as  it  could  be 
crammed."'5*'  Of  this  Rota  political  Club  .we  shall 
presently  say  more.  It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  poli- 
tics were  thus  early  introduced  into  English  Club-life. 
Dryden,  some  twenty  years  after  the  above  date,  asks : 
c<  What  right  has  any  man  to  meet  in  factious  Clubs  to 
vilify  the  Government  ?" 

Three  years  after  the  Great  Fire,  in  1669,  there  was 
established  in  the  City,  the  Civil  Club,  which  exists  to 
this  day.  All  the  members  are  citizens,  and  are  proud 
of  their  Society,  on  account  of  its  antiquity,  and* of  its 
being  the  only  Club  which  attaches  to  its  staff  the  reputed 
office  of  a  chaplain.  The  members  appear  to  have  first 
clubbed  together  for  the  sake  of  mutual  aid  and  support; 
but  the  name  of  the  founder  of  the  Club,  and  the  cir- 
cumstances of  its  origin,  have  unfortunately  been  lost 
with  its  early  records.  The  time  at  which  it  was  esta- 
blished was  one  of  severe  trials,  when  the  Great  Plague 
and  the  Great  Fire  had  broken  up  much  society,  and 
many  old  associations;  the  object  and  recommendation 
being,  as  one  of  the  rules  express  it,  "that  members 
should  give  preference  to  each  other  in  their  respective 
callings  •"  and  that  "  but  one  person  of  the  same  trade 
or  profession  should  be  a  member  of  the  Club."  This 
is  the  rule  of  the  old  middle-class  clubs  called  "  One  of 
a  Trade." 

The  Civil  Club  met  for  many  years  at  the  Old  Ship 
Tavern,  in  Water-lane,  upon  which  being  taken  down, 
the  Club  removed  to  the  New  Corn  Exchange  Tavern, 
in  Mark  Lane.  The  records,  which  are  extant,  show 
among  former  members  Parliament  men,  baronets,  and 
aldermen ;  the  chaplain  is  the  incumbent  of  St.  Olave- 
*  Memoir  of  Aubrey,  by  John  Britton,  qto.,  p.  36. 


6  CLUB   LIFE   OF    LONDON. 

by-the-Tower,    Hart- street.     Two   high  carved  chairs, 
bearing  date  1669,  are  used  by  the  stewards. 

At  the  time  of  the  Revolution,  the  Treason  Club,  as 
it  was  commonly  called,  met  at  the  Rose  tavern,  in 
Covent  Garden,  to  consult  with  Lord  Colchester,  Mr. 
Thomas  Wharton,  Colonel  Talmash,  Colonel  Godfrey, 
and  many  others  of  their  party ;  and  it  was  there 
resolved  that  the  regiment  under  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Langstone's  command  should  desert  entire,  as  they  did, 
on  Sunday,  Nov.  1688* 

In  Friday-street,  Cheapside,  was  held  the  Wednesday 
Club,  at  which,  in  1695,  certain  conferences  took  place 
uuder  the  direction  of  William  Paterson,  which  ulti- 
mately led  to  the  establishment  of  the  Bank  of  England. 
Such  is  the  general  belief;  but  Mr.  Saxe  Bannister,  in 
his  Life  of  Paterson,  p.  93,  observes  :  "  It  has  been  a 
matter  of  much  doubt  whether  the  Bank  of  England  was 
originally  proposed  from  a  Club  or  Society  in  the  City 
of  London.  The  Dialogue  Conferences  of  the  Wednes- 
day Club,  in  Friday -street,  have  been  quoted  as  if  first 
published  in  1695.  No  such  publication  has  been  met 
with  of  a  date  before  1706;"  and  Mr.  Bannister  states 
his  reasons  for  supposing  it  was  not  preceded  by  any 
other  book.  Still,  Paterson  wrote  the  papers  entitled 
the  Wednesday  Club  Conferences. 

Club  is  denned  by  Dr.  Johnson  to  be  "  an  assembly  of 
good  fellows,  meeting  under  certain  conditions  •"  but  by 
Todd,  "  an  association  of  persons  subjected  to  particular 
rules."  It  is  plain  that  the  latter  definition  is  at  least 
not  that  of  a  Club,  as  distinguished  from  any  other  kind 
of  association ;  although  it  may  be  more  comprehensive 
than  is  necessary,  to  take  in  all  the  gatherings  that  in 
*  Macpherson's  History  of  England,  vol.  iii.— Original  papers. 


ORIGIN   OF   CLUBS.  7 

modern  times  have  assumed  the  name  of  Clubs.  John- 
son's, however,  is  the  more  exact  account  of  the  true  old 
English  Club. 

The  golden  period  of  the  Clubs  was,  however,  in  the 
time  of  the  Spectator,  in  whose  rich  humour  their  me- 
mories are  embalmed.  "  Man/'  writes  Addison,  in  No.  9, 
"  is  said  to  be  a  sociable  animal ;  and  as  an  instance  of  it 
we  may  observe,  that  we  take  all  occasions  and  pretences 
of  forming  ourselves  into  those  little  nocturnal  assem- 
blies, which  are  commonly  known  by  the  name  of  Clubs. 
When  a  set  of  men  find  themselves  agree  in  any  par- 
ticular, though  never  so  trivial,  they  establish  themselves 
into  a  kind  of  fraternity,  and  meet  once  or  twice  a  week, 
upon  the  account  of  such  a  fantastic  resemblance." 

Pall  Mall  was  noted  for  its  tavern  Clubs  more  than 
two  centuries  since.  "  The  first  time  that  Pepys  men- 
tions Pell  Mell,"  writes  Cunningham, ' '  is  under  the  26th 
of  July,  1660,  where  he  says  {  We  went  to  Wood's  (our 
old  house  for  clubbing),  '  and  there  we  spent  till  ten  at 
night.'  This  is  not  only  one  of  the  earliest  references  to 
Pall  Mall  as  an  inhabited  locality,  but  one  of  the  earliest 
uses  of  the  word  '  clubbing,'  in  its  modern  signification 
of  a  Club,  and  additionally  interesting,  seeing  that  the 
street  still  maintains  what  Johnson  would  have  called 
its  '  clubbable '  character." 

In  Spence's  Anecdotes  {Supplemental,)  we  read : 
"  There  was  a  Club  held  at  the  King's  Head,  in  Pall 
Mall,  that  arrogantly  called  itself  '  The  World.'  Lord 
Stanhope,  then  (now  Lord  Chesterfield),  Lord  Herbert, 
&c,  were  members.  Epigrams  were  proposed  to  be 
written  on  the  glasses,  by  each  member  after  dinner ; 
once,  when  Dr.  Young  was  invited  thither,  the  Doctor 
would  have  declined  writing,  because  he  had  no  diamond  : 


8  CLUB   LIFE    OF   LONDON. 

Lord    Stanhope    lent   him  his,    and    he   wrote    imme- 
diately— 

"  '  Accept  a  miracle,  instead  of  wit ; 

See  two  dull  lines  with  Stanhope's  pencil  writ.'  " 

The  first  modern  Club  mansion  in  Pall  Mall  was 
No.  86,  opened  as  a  subscription  house,  called  the  Albion 
Hotel.  It  was  originally  built  for  Edward  Duke  of 
York,  brother  of  George  III.,  and  is  now  the  office  of 
Ordnance,  (correspondence.) 


THE   MERMAID   CLUB. 

This  famous  Club  was  held  at  the  Mermaid  Tavern, 
which  was  long  said  to  have  stood  in  Friday-street, 
Cheapside  ;  but  Ben  Jonson  has,  in  his  own  verse,  settled 
it  in  Bread-street : 

"  At  Bread-street's  Mermaid  having  dined  and  merry, 
Proposed  to  go  to  Holborn  in  a  wherry." 

Ben  Jonson,  ed.  Giffbrd,  viii.  242. 

Mr.  Hunter  also,  in  his  Notes  on  Shakspeare,  tells  us 
that  "  Mr.  Johnson,  at  the  Mermaid,  in  Bread-street, 
vintner,  occurs  as  creditor  for  17s.  in  a  schedule  annexed 
to  the  will  of  Albain  Butler,  of  Clifford's  Inn,  gentleman, 
in  1603.  Mr.  Burn,  in  the  Beaufoy  Catalogue,  also  ex- 
plains :  "  the  Mermaid  in  Bread-street,  the  Mermaid  in 
Friday-street,  and  the  Mermaid  in  Cheap,  were  all  one 
and  the  same.  The  tavern,  situated  behind,  had  a  way 
to  it  from  these  thoroughfares,  but  was  nearer  to  Bread- 
street  than  Friday-street."  In  a  note,  Mr.  Burn  adds  : 
M  The  site  of  the  Mermaid  is  clearly  defined  from  the  cir- 


THE   MERMAID   CLUB.  9 

cumstance  of  W.  R.,  a  haberdasher  of  small  wares, c  twixt 
Wood-street  and  Milk-street/  adopting  the  same  sign 
1  over  against  the  Mermaid  Tavern  in  Cheapside/  "  The 
Tavern  was  destroyed  in  the  Great  Fire. 

Here  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  is  .traditionally  said  to  have 
instituted  "  The  Mermaid  Club."  Gifford  has  thus  de- 
scribed the  Club,  adopting  the  tradition  and  the  Friday- 
street  location :  "  About  this  time  [1603]  Jonson  pro- 
bably began  to  acquire  that  turn  for  conviviality  for 
which  he  was  afterwards  noted.  Sir  Wr alter  Raleigh, 
previously  to  his  unfortunate  engagement  with  the 
wretched  Cobham  and  others,  had  instituted  a  meeting 
of  beaux  esprits  at  the  Mermaid,  a  celebrated  tavern  in 
Friday-street.  Of  this  Club,  which  combined  more  talent 
and  genius  than  ever  met  together  before  or  since,  our 
author  was  a  member ;  and  here  for  many  years  he  regu- 
larly repaired,  with  Shakspeare,  Beaumont,  Fletcher, 
Selden,  Cotton,  Carew,  Martin,  Donne,  and  many  others, 
whose  names,  even  at  this  distant  period,  call  up  a  min- 
gled feeling  of  reverence  and  respect."  But  this  is 
doubted.  A  writer  in  the  Athenmum,  Sept.  16,  1865, 
states :  "The  origin  of  the  common  tale  of  Raleigh  found- 
ing the  Mermaid  Club,  of  which  Shakspeare  is  said  to 
have  been  a  member,  has  not  been  traced.  Is  it  older 
than  Gifford  ?  "  Again  :  "  Gifford's  apparent  invention 
of  the  Mermaid  Club.  Prove  to  us  that  Raleigh  founded 
the  Mermaid  Club,  that  the  wits  attended  it  under  his 
presidency,  and  you  will  have  made  a  real  contribution 
to  our  knowledge  of  Shakspeare's  time,  even  if  you  fail 
to  diow  that  our  Poet  was  a  member  of  that  Club." 
The  tradition,  it  is  thought,  must  be  added  to  the  long 
list  of  Shakspearian  doubts. 

Nevertheless,   Fuller  has  described  the  wit-combats 


10  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON. 

between  Shakspeare  and  Ben  Jonson, li  which  he  beheld/5 
meaning  with  his  mind's  eye,  for  he  was  only  eight  years 
of  age  when  Shakspeare  died ;  "  a  circumstance/'  says 
Mr.  Charles  Knight,  "which  appears  to  have  been  forgot- 
ten by  some  who  have  written  of  these  matters."  But 
we  have  a  noble  record  left  of  the  wit-combats  in  the 
celebrated  epistle  of  Beaumont  to  Jonson  : — 

"  Metkinks  the  little  wit  I  had  is  lost 
Since  I  saw  you ;  for  wit  is  like  a  rest 
Held  up  at  tennis,  which  men  do  the  best 
With  the  best  gamesters :  what  things  have  we  seen 
Done  at  the  Mermaid  !  heard  words  that  have  been 
So  nimble,  and  so  full  of  subtile  flame, 
As  if  that  every  one  from  whence  they  came 
Had  meant  to  put  his  whole  wit  in  a  jest, 
And  had  resolv'd  to  live  a  fool  the  rest 
Of  his  dull  life  ;  then  when  there  hath  been  thrown 
Wit  able  enough  to  justify  the  town 
For  three  days  past,  wit  that  might  warrant  be 
For  the  whole  city  to  talk  foolishly 
'Till  that  were  cancelJ.'d  :  and  when  that  was  gone 
We  left  an  air  behind  us,  which  alone 
Was  able  to  make  the  two  next  companies 
Right  witty ;  though  but  downright  fools,  mere  wise." 


THE  APOLLO  CLUB. 

The  noted  tavern,  with  the  sign  of  St.  Dunstan  pulling 
the  Devil  by  the  nose,  stood  between  Temple  Bar  and 
the  Middle  Temple  gate.  It  was  a  house  of  great  resort 
in  the  reign  of  James  I.,  and  then  kept  by  Simon 
Wadloe. 


THE  APOLLO   CLUB.  11 

In  Ben  Jonson' s  Staple  of  News,  played  in   1625, 
Pennyboy  Canter  advises,  to 

"Dine  in  Apollo,  with  Pecunia 
At  brave  Duke  Wadloe's." 

Pennyboy  junior  replies — 

"  Content,  i'  th'  faith  ; 
Our  meal  shall  be  brought  thither ;  Simon  the  King 
Will  bid  us  welcome.' ' 

At  what  period  Ben  Jonson  began  to  frequent  this 
tavern  is  not  certain  ;  but  we  have  bis  record  that 
he  wrote  The  Devil  is  an  Asse,  played  in  1616,  when 
he  and  his  boys  (adopted  sons)  "  drank  bad  wine  at  the 
Devil."  The  principal  room  was  called  "  the  Oracle  of 
Apollo/'  a  large  room  evidently  built  apart  from  the 
tavern  ;  and  from  Prior's  and  Charles  Montagu's  Hind 
and  Panther  Transversed  it  is  shown  to  have  been  an 
upper  apartment,  or  on  the  first  story : — 

"  Hence  to  the  Devil — 
Thus  to  the  place  where  Jonson  sat,  we  climb, 
Leaning  on  the  same  rail  that  guided  him." 

Above  the  door  was  the  bust  of  Apollo ;  and  the  fol- 
lowing verses,  "  the  Welcome/'  were  inscribed  in  gold 
letters  upon  a  black  board,  and  "  placed  over  the  door  at 
the  entrance  into  the  Apollo  : 

"Welcome  all,  who  lead  or  follow, 
To  the  Oracle  of  Apollo — 
Here  he  speaks  out  of  his  pottle, 
Or  the  tripos,  his  Tower  bottle  ; 
All  his  answers  are  divine, 
Truth  itself  doth  flow  in  wine. 
Hangup  all  the  poor  hop-drinkers, 
Cries  old  Sim  the  king  of  skinkers ; 


12  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON. 

He  that  half  of  life  abuses, 

That  sits  watering  with  the  Muses. 

Those  dull  girls  no  good  can  mean  us ; 

Wine  it  is  the  milk  of  Venus, 

And  the  Poet's  horse  accounted  : 

Ply  it,  and  you  all  are  mounted. 

'Tis  the  true  Phcebeian  liquor, 

Cheers  the  brain,  makes  wit  the  quicker, 

Pays  all  debts,  cures  all  diseases, 

And  at  once  three  senses  pleases. 

Welcome  all,  who  lead  or  follow, 

To  the  Oracle  of  Apollo" 

Beneath  these  verses  was  the  name  of  the  author, 
thus  inscribed — "  O  Rare  Ben  Jonson,"  a  posthumous 
tribute  from  his  grave  in  Westminster  Abbey.  The 
bust  appears  modelled  from  the  Apollo  Belvedere,  by 
some  skilful  person  of  the  olden  day,  but  has  been 
several  times  painted.  "  The  Welcome,"  originally  in- 
scribed in  gold  letters,  on  a  thick  black-painted  board, 
lias  since  been  wholly  repainted  and  gilded;  but  the 
old  thickly-lettered  inscription  of  Ben's  day  may  be 
seen  as  an  embossment  upon  the  modern  painted  back- 
ground. These  poetic  memorials  are  both  preserved  in 
the  banking-house  of  the  Messrs.  Child. 

"  The  Welcome/'  says  Mr.  Burn,  "  it  may  be  in- 
ferred, was  placed  in  the  interior  of  the  room  ;  so  also, 
above  the  fireplace,  were  the  Rules  of  the  Club,  said  by 
early  writers  to  have  been  inscribed  in  marble,  but  were 
in  truth  gilded  letters  upon  a  black-painted  board,  similar 
to  the  verses  of  the  Welcome.  These  Rules  are  justly 
admired  for  the  conciseness  and  elegance  of  the  La- 
tinity."  They  have  been  felicitously  translated  by  Alex- 
ander Broome,  one  of  the  wits  who  frequented  the 
Devil,  and  who  was  one  of  Ben  Jonson's  twelve  adopted 
poetical  sons.     Latin  inscriptions  were  also  placed  in 


THE   APOLLO   CLUB.  13 

other  directions,  to  adorn  the  house.  Over  the  clock  in 
the  kitchen,  in  1731,  there  remained  "  Si  nocturna  tibi 
noceat  potatio  vini,  hoc  in  mane  bibes  iterum,  et  fuerit 
medicina."  Aubrey  reports  his  uncle  Danvers  to  have 
said  that  "  Ben  Jonson,  to  be  near  the  Devil  tavern,  in 
King  James's  time,  lived  without  Temple-barre,  at  a 
combemaker's  shop,  about  the  Elephant  and  Castle  f 
and  James,  Lord  Scudamore  has,  in  his  Homer  a  la 
Mode,  a  travesty,  said — 

"  Apollo  had  a  flamen, 
Who  in 's  temple  did  say  Amen." 

This  personage  certainly  Ben  Jonson  represented  in 
the  great  room  of  the  Devil  tavern.  Hither  came  all 
who  desired  to  be  "  sealed  of  the  tribe  of  Ben."  "  The 
Leges  Conviviales"  says  Leigh  Hunt,  "which  Jonson 
wrote  for  his  Club,  and  which  are  to  be  found  in  his 
works,  are  composed  in  his  usual  style  of  elaborate  and 
compiled  learning,  not  without  a  taste  of  that  dictato- 
rial self-sufficiency,  which,  notwithstanding  all  that  has 
been  said  by  his  advocates,  and  the  good  qualities  he 
undoubtedly  possessed,  forms  an  indelible  part  of  his 
character.  '  Insipida  poemata/  says  he,  '  nulla  reci- 
tantur '  (Let  nobody  repeat  to  us  insipid  poetry) ;  as 
if  all  that  he  should  read  of  his  own  must  infallibly 
be  otherwise.  The  Club  at  the  Devil  does  not  appear  to 
have  resembled  the  higher  one  at  the  Mermaid,  where 
Shakspeare  and  Beaumont  used  to  meet  him.  He  most 
probably  had  it  all  to  himself." 

In  the  Rules  of  the  Apollo  Club,  women  of  character 
were  not  excluded  from  attending  the  meetings — Probce 
femince  non  repudiantur.  Marmion,  one  of  Jon  son's 
contemporary  dramatists,  describes  him  in  his  presiden- 
tial chair,  as  "  the  boon  Delphic  god  :" — 


14  CLUB  LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

"  Careless.  I  am  full 

Of  Oracles.     I  am  come  from  Apollo. 

Emilia.  From  Apollo ! 

Careless.  From  the  heaven 

Of  my  delight,  where  the  boon  Delphic  god 
Drinks  sack,  and  keeps  his  bacchanalia, 
And  has  his  incense  and  his  altars  smoaking, 
And  speaks  in  sparkling  prophecies ;  thence  I  come, 
My  brains  perfumed  with  the  rich  Indian  vapour, 
And  heightened  with  conceits.     From  tempting  beauties, 
From  dainty  music  and  poetic  strains, 
From  bowls  of  nectar  and  ambrosial  dishes, 
From  witty  varlets,  fine  companions, 
And  from  a  mighty  continent  of  pleasure, 
Sails  thy  brave  Careless." 

Randolph  was  by  Ben  Jonson,  adopted  for  his  son, 
and  that  upon  the  following  occasion.  "  Mr.  Randolph 
having  been  at  London  so  long  as  that  he  might  truly 
have  had  a  parley  with  his  Empty  Purse,  was  resolved  to 
see  Ben  Jonson,  with  his  associates,  which,  as  he  heard, 
at  a  set  time  kept  a  Club  together  at  the  Devil  Tavern, 
neere  Temple  Bar  :  accordingly,  at  the  time  appointed,  he 
went  thither,  but  being  unknown  to  them,  and  want- 
ing money,  which  to  an  ingenious  spirit  is  the  most 
daunting  thing  in  the  world,  he  peeped  in  the  room 
where  they  were,  which  being  espied  by  Ben  Jonson,  and 
seeing  him  in  a  scholar's  threadbare  habit,  f  John  Bo- 
peep/  says  he,  l  come  in/  which  accordingly  he  did ; 
when  immediately  they  began  to  rhyme  upon  the  mean- 
ness of  his  clothes,  asking  him  if  he  could  not  make  a 
verse  ?  and  without  to  call  for  a  quart  of  sack  :  there 
being  four  of  them,  he  immediately  thus  replied, 

"  I,  John  Bo-peep,  to  you  four  sheep, — 
With  each  one  his  good  fleece  ; 
If  that  you  are  willing  to  give  me  five  shilling, 
'Tis  fifteen-pence  a-piece." 


THE   APOLLO   CLUB.  15 

"By  Jesus  !"  quoth  Ben  Jonson  (his  usual  oath),  "  I 
believe  this  is  my  son  Randolph  •"  which  being  made 
known  to  them,  he  was  kindly  entertained  into  their 
company,  and  Ben  Jonson  ever  after  called  him  son. 
He  wrote  The  Muses'  Looking-glass,  Cambridge  Duns, 
Parley  with  his  Empty  Purse,  and  other  poems. 

We  shall  have  more  to  say  of  the  Devil  Tavern,  which 
has  other  celebrities  besides  Jonson. 


EARLY  POLITICAL  CLUBS. 

Our  Clubs,  or  social  gatherings,  which  date  from  the 
Restoration,  were  exclusively  political.  The  first  we 
hear  of  was  the  noted  Rota,  or  Coffee  Club,  as  Pepys  calls 
it,  which  was  founded  in  1659,  as  a  kind  of  debating 
society  for  the  dissemination  of  republican  opinions, 
which  Harrington  had  painted  in  their  fairest  colours  in 
his  Oceana.  It  met  in  New  Palace  Yard,  u  where  they 
take  water  at  one  Miles's,  the  next  house  to  the  staires, 
at  one  Miles's,  where  was  made  purposely  a  large  ovall 
table,  with  a  passage  in  the  middle  for  Miles  to  deliver 
his  coffee."  Here  Harrington  gave  nightly  lectures  on 
the  advantage  of  a  commonwealth  and  of  the  ballot. 
The  Club  derived  its  name  from  a  plan,  which  it  was  its 
design  to  promote,  for  changing  a  certain  number  of 
Members  of  Parliament  annually  by  rotation.  Sir 
"William  Petty  was  one  of  its  members.  Round  the 
table,  "  in  a  room  every  evening  as  full  as  it  could  be 
crammed,"  says  Aubrey,  sat  Milton  and  Marvell,  Cyriac 
Skinner,  Harrington,  Nevill,  and  their  friends,  discuss- 
ing abstract  political  questions.    Aubrey  calls  them  "  dis- 


16  CLUB  LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

ci pies  and  virtuosi."  The  place  had  its  dissensions  and 
brawls :  "  one  time  Mr.  Stafford  and  his  friends  came 
in  drunk  from  the  tavern,  and  affronted  the  Junto; 
the  soldiers  offered  to  kick  them  down  stayres,  but  Mr. 
Harrington's  moderation  and  persuasion  hindered  it." 

To  the  Rota,  in  January,  1660,  came  Pepys,  and 
"  heard  very  good  discourse  in  answer  to  Mr.  Harring- 
ton's answer,  who  said  that  the  state  of  the  Roman 
government  was  not  a  settled  government;  and  so  it 
was  no  wonder  the  balance  of  prosperity  was  in  one 
hand,  and  the  command  in  another,  it  being  therefore 
always  in  a  posture  of  war :  but  it  was  carried  by  ballot 
that  it  was  a  steady  government ;  though,  it  is  true,  by 
the  voices  it  had  been  carried  before  that,  that  it  was  an 
unsteady  government.  So  to-morrow  it  is  to  be  proved 
by  the  opponents  that  the  balance  lay  in  one  hand  and 
the  government  in  another."  The  Club  was  broken 
up  after  the  Restoration ;  but  its  members  had  become 
marked  men.  Harrington's  Oceana  is  an  imaginary 
account  of  the  construction  of  a  commonwealth  in  a 
country,  of  which  Oceana  is  the  imaginary  name. 
11  Rota-men"  occurs  by  way  of  comparison  in  Hudibras, 
part  ii.  canto  3  : 

'*  But  Sidrophel,  as  full  of  tricks 
As  Rota-men  of  politics." 

Besides  the  Rota,  there  was  the  old  Royalist  Club, 
"  The  Sealed  Knot,"  which,  the  year  before  the  Restora- 
tion, had  organized  a  general  insurrection  in  favour  of 
the  King.  Unluckily,  they  had  a  spy  amongst  them — 
Sir  Richard  Willis, — who  had  long  fingered  Cromwell's 
money,  as  one  of  his  private  "intelligencers;"  the 
leaders,  on  his  information,  were  arrested,  and  com- 
mitted to  prison. 


17 


THE   OCTOBER   CLUB. 

The  writer  of  an  excellent  paper  in  the  National 
Review,  No.  VIII.,.  well  observes  that  "  Politics  under 
Anne  had  grown  a  smaller  and  less  dangerous  game 
than  in  the  preceding  century.  The  original  political 
Clubs  of  the  Commonwealth,  the  Protectorate,  and  the 
Restoration,  plotted  revolutions  of  government.  The 
Parliamentary  Clubs,  after  the  Revolution  of  1688,  ma- 
noeuvred for  changes  of  administration.  The  high-fly- 
ing Tory  country  gentleman  and  country  member  drank 
the  health  of  the  King — sometimes  over  the  water- 
decanter,  and  flustered  himself  with  bumpers  in  honour 
of  Dr.  Sacheverell  and  the  Church  of  England,  with 
true-blue  spirits  of  his  own  kidney,  at  the  October 
Club,"  which,  like  the  Beef  Steak  Club,  was  named 
after  the  cheer  for  which  it  was  famed, — October  ale  ; 
or  rather,  on  account  of  the  quantities  of  the  ale  which 
the  members  drank.  The  hundred  and  fifty  squires, 
Tories  to  the  backbone,  who,  under  the  above  name, 
met  at  the  Bell  Tavern,  in  King  Street,  Westminster, 
were  of  opinion  that  the  party  to  which  they  belonged 
were  too  backward  in  punishing  and  turning  out  the 
Whigs ;  and  they  gave  infinite  trouble  to  the  Tory  ad- 
ministration which  came  into  office  under  the  leader- 
ship of  Harley,  St.  John,  and  Harcourt,  in  1710.  The 
Administration  were  for  proceeding  moderately  with 
their  rivals,  and  for  generally  replacing  opponents  with 
partisans.  The  October  Club  were  for  immediately  im- 
peaching every  member   of  the  Whig  party,  and  for 

vol.  i.  c 


18  CLUB    LIFE    OF    LONDON. 

turning  out,  without  a  day's  grace,  every  placeman  who 
did  not  wear  their  colours,  and  shout  their  cries. 

Swift  was  great  at  the  October  Club,  and  he  was 
employed  to  talk  over  those  who  were  amenable  to 
reason,  and  to  appease  a  discontent  which  was  hastily 
ripening  into  mutiny.  There  are  allusions  to  such  ne- 
gotiations in  more  than  one  passage  of  the  Journal  to 
Stella,  in  1711.  In  a  letter,  February  10,  1710-11,  he 
says  :  "  We  are  plagued  here  with  an  October  Club ; 
that  is,  a  set  of  above  a  hundred  Parliament  men  of  the 
country,  who  drink  October  beer  at  home,  and  meet 
every  evening  at  a  tavern  near  the  Parliament,  to  con- 
sult affairs,  and  drive  things  on  to  extremes  against  the 
Whigs,  to  call  the  old  ministry  to  account,  and  get  off 
five  or  six  heads."  Swift's  Advice  humbly  offered  to  the 
Members  of  the  October  Club,  had  the  desired  effect  of 
softening  some,  and  convincing  others,  until  the  whole 
body  of  malcontents  was  first  divided  and  finally  dis- 
solved. The  treatise  is  a  masterpiece  of  Swift's  poli- 
tical skill,  judiciously  palliating  those  ministerial  errors 
which  could  not  be  denied,  and  artfully  intimating 
those  excuses,  which,  resting  upon  the  disposition  of 
Queen  Anne  herself,  could  not,  in  policy  or  decency,  be 
openly  pleaded. 

The  red-hot  "tantivies,"  for  whose  loyalty  the  October 
Club  was  not  thorough-going  enough,  seceded  from  the 
original  body,  and  formed  "  the  March  Club/'  more 
Jacobite  and  rampant  in  its  hatred  of  the  Whigs,  than 
the  Society  from  which  it  branched. 

King  Street  would,  at  this  time,  be  a  strange  location 
for  a  Parliamentary  Club,  like  the  October ;  narrow  and 
obscure  as  is  the  street,  we  must  remember  that  a  cen- 
tury ago,  it  was  the  only  thoroughfare  to  the  Palace 


THE    BROTHEES    CLUB.  19 

at  Westminster  and  the  Houses  of  Parliament.  When 
the  October  was  broken  up,  the  portrait  of  Queen  Anne, 
by  Dahl,  which  ornamented  the  club-room,  was  bought 
of  the  Club,  after  the  Queen's  death,  by  the  Corpora- 
tion of  Salisbury,  and  may  still  be  seen  in  their  Council- 
chamber.   (Cunningham's  Handbook,  2nd  edit.,  p.  364.) 


THE  SATURDAY,  AND  BROTHERS  CLUBS. 

Few  men  appear  to  have  so  well  studied  the  social 
and  political  objects  of  Club-life  as  Dean  Swift.  One 
of  his  resorts  was  the  old  Saturday  Club.  He  tells 
Stella  (to  whom  he  specially  reported  most  of  his  club 
arrangements),  in  1711,  there  were  "  Lord  Keeper,  Lord 
Rivers,  Mr.  Secretary,  Mr.  Harley,  and  I."  Of  the 
same  Club  he  writes,  in  1713 :  "  I  dined  with  Lord 
Treasurer,  and  shall  again  to-morrow,  which  is  his  day, 
when  all  the  ministers  dine  with  him.  He  calls  it 
whipping-day.  It  is  always  on  Saturday ;  and  we  do, 
indeed,  rally  him  about  his  faults  on  that  day.  I  was 
of  the  original  Club,  when  only  poor  Lord  Rivers,  Lord 
Keeper,  and  Lord  Bolingbroke  came ;  but  now  Ormond, 
Anglesey,  Lord  Stewart,  Dartmouth,  and  other  rabble 
intrude,  and  I  scold  at  it ;  but  now  they  pretend  as 
good  a  title  as  I ;  and,  indeed,  many  Saturdays  I 
am  not  there.  The  company  being  too  many,  I  don't 
love  it." 

In  the  same  year  Swift  framed  the  rules  of  the  Bro- 
thers Club,  which  met  every  Thursday.  "  The  end  of 
our  Club,"  he  says,  "  is  to  advance  conversation  and 

c2 


20  CLUB   LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

friendship,  and  to  reward  learning  without  interest  or 
recommendation.  We  take  in  none  but  men  of  wit, 
or  men  of  interest ;  and  if  we  go  on  as  we  began,  no 
other  Club  in  this  town  will  be  worth  talking  of." 

The  Journal  about  this  time  is  very  full  of  Brothers 
Arran  and  Dupplin,  Masham  and  Ormond,  Bathurst 
and  Harcourt,  Orrery  and  Jack  Hill,  and  other  Tory 
magnates  of  the  Club,  or  Society  as  Swift  preferred  to 
call  it.  We  find  him  entertaining  his  "  Brothers  M  at 
the  Thatched  House  Tavern,  in  St.  James's  Street,  at 
the  cost  of  seven  good  guineas.  He  must  have  been  an 
influential  member ;  he  writes  :  ' '  We  are  now,  in  all, 
nine  lords  and  ten  commoners.  The  Duke  of  Beaufort 
had  the  confidence  to  propose  his  brother-in-law,  the 
Earl  of  Danby,  to  be  a  member;  but  I  opposed  it  so 
warmly,  that  it  was  waived.  Danby  is  not  above  twenty, 
and  we  will  have  no  more  boys;  and  we  want  but  two 
to  make  up  our  number.  I  staid  till  eight,  and  then 
we  all  went  away  soberly.  The  Duke  of  Ormondes 
treat  last  week  cost  £20,  though  it  was  only  four  dishes 
and  four  without  a  dessert;  and  I  bespoke  it  in  order 
to  be  cheap.  Yet  I  could  not  prevail  to  change  the 
house.  Lord  Treasurer  is  in  a  rage  with  us  for  being 
so  extravagant ;  and  the  wine  was  not  reckoned  neither, 
for  that  is  always  brought  in  by  him  that  is  presi- 
dent." 

Not  long  after  this,  Swift  writes  :  "  Our  Society  does 
not  meet  now  as  usual ;  for  which  I  am  blamed ;  but 
till  Treasurer  will  agree  to  give  us  money  and  em- 
ployments to  bestow,  I  am  averse  to  it,  and  he  gives 
us  nothing  but  promises.  We  now  resolve  to  meet 
but  once  a  fortnight,  and  have  a  committee  every  other 
week  of  six  or  seven,  to  consult  about  doing  some  good. 


THE    BROTHERS    CLUB.  21 

I  proposed  another  message  to  Lord  Treasurer  by  three 
principal  members,  to  give  a  hundred  guineas  to  a 
certain  person,  and  they  are  to  urge  it  as  well  as  they 
can." 

One  day,  President  Arbuthnot  gives  the  Society  a 
dinner,  dressed  in  the  Queen's  kitchen  :  "  we  eat  it  in 
Ozinda's  Coffee-house  just  by  St.  James's.  We  were 
never  merrier  or  better  company,  and  did  not  part  till 
after  eleven."  In  May,  we  hear  how  "  fifteen  of  our 
Society  dined  together  under  a  canopy  in  an  arbour  at 
Parson's  Green  last  Thursday.  I  never  saw  anything  so 
fine  and  romantic." 

Latterly,  the  Club  removed  to  the  Star  and  Garter, 
in  Pall  Mall,  owing  to  the  dearness  of  the  Thatched 
House ;  after  this,  the  expense  was  wofully  complained 
of.  At  these  meetings,  we  may  suppose,  the  litera- 
ture of  politics  formed  the  staple  of  the  conversation. 
The  last  epigram,  the  last  pamphlet,  the  last  Exa- 
miner, would  be  discussed  with  keen  relish ;  and  Swift 
mentions  one  occasion  oh  which  an  impromptu  sub- 
scription was  got  up  for  a  poet,  who  had  lampooned 
Marlborough ;  on  which  occasion  all  the  company  sub- 
scribed two  guineas  each,  except  Swift  himself,  Arbuth- 
not, and  Friend,  who  only  gave  one.  Bolingbroke,  who 
was  an  active  member,  and  Swift,  were  on  a  footing  of 
great  familiarity.  St.  John  used  to  give  capital  dinners 
and  plenty  of  champagne  and  burgundy  to  his  literary 
coadjutor,  who  never  ceased  to  wonder  at  the  ease  with 
which  our  Secretary  got  through  his  labours,  and  who 
worked  for  him  in  turn  with  the  sincerest  devotion, 
though  always  asserting  his  equality  in  the  sturdiest 
manner. 

Many  pleasant   glimpses  of  convivial   meetings   are 


22  CLUB   LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

afforded  in  the  Journal  to  Stella,  when  there  was  "  much 
drinking,  little  thinking/'  and  the  business  which  they 
had  met  to  consider  was  deferred  to  a  more  convenient 
season.  Whether  (observes  a  contemporary)  the  power 
of  conversation  has  declined  or  not,  we  certainly  fear 
that  the  power  of  drinking  has ;  and  the  imagination 
dwells  with  melancholy  fondness  on  that  state  of  society 
in  which  great  men  were  not  forbidden  to  be  good  fellows, 
which  we  fancy,  whether  rightly  or  wrongly,  must  have 
been  so  superior  to  ours,  in  which  wit  and  eloquence 
succumb  to  statistics,  and  claret  has  given  place  to 
coffee. 

The  Journal  to  Stella  reveals  Swift's  sympathy  for 
poor  starving  authors,  and  how  he  carried  out  the  ob- 
jects of  the  Society,  in  this  respect.  Thus,  he  goes  to  see 
"  a  poor  poet,  one  Mr.  Diaper,  in  a  nasty  garret,  very 
sick,"  described  in  the  Journal  as  "  the  author  of  the  Sea 
Eclogues,  poems  of  Mermen,  resembling  pastorals  and 
shepherds  ;  and  they  are  very  pretty,  and  the  thought  is 
new."  Then  Swift  tells  us  he  thinks  to  recommend 
Diaper  to  the  Society ;  he  adds,  "  I  must  do  something 
for  him,  and  get  him  out  of  the  way.  I  hate  to  have 
any  new  wits  rise ;  but  when  they  do  rise,  I  would  en- 
courage them ;  but  they  tread  on  our  heels,  and  thrust 
us  off  the  stage."  Only  a  few  days  before,  Swift  had 
given  Diaper  twenty  guineas  from  Lord  Bolingbroke. 

Then  we  get  at  the  business  of  "  the  Brothers,"  when 
we  learn  that  the  printer  attended  the  dinners  ;  and  the 
Journal  tells  us :  "  There  was  printed  a  Grub-street 
speech  of  Lord  Nottingham,  and  he  was  such  an  owl  to 
complain  of  it  in  the  House  of  Lords,  whc  have  taken 
up  the  printer  for  it.  I  heard  at  Court  that  Walpole, 
(a  great  Whig  member,)  said  that  I  and  my  whimsical 


THE   SCRIBLEKUS   CLUB.  23 

Club  writ  it  at  one  of  our  meetings,  and  that  I  should 
pay  for  it.  He  will  find  he  lies ;  and  I  shall  let  him 
know  by  a  third  hand  my  thoughts  of  him."  ..."  To- 
day I  published  The  Fable  of  Midas,  a  poem  printed  on 
a  loose  half-sheet  of  paper.  I  know  not  how  it  will 
take;  but  it  passed  wonderfully  at  our  Society  to-night." 
At  one  dinner,  the  printer's  news  is  that  the  Chancellor 
of  the  Exchequer  had  sent  Mr.  Adisworth,  the  author 
of  the  Examiner,  twenty  guineas. 

There  were  gay  sparks  among  cc  the  Brothers,"  as 
Colonel  or  "  Duke  "  Disney,  "  a  fellow  of  abundance  of 
humour,  an  old  battered  rake,  but  very  honest ;  not  an 
old  man,  but  an  old  rake.  It  was  he  that  said  of  Jenny 
Kingdown,  the  maid  of  honour,  who  is  a  little  old,  '  that 
since  she  could  not  get  a  husband,  the  Queen  should 
give  her  a  brevet  to  act  as  a  married  woman.'  " — Journal 
to  Stella. 


THE  SCRIBLERUS  CLUB. 

"  The  Brothers,"  as  we  have  already  seen,  was  a  poli- 
tical Club,  which,  having,  in  great  measure  served  its 
purpose,  was  broken  up.  Next  year,  1714,  Swift  was 
again  in  London,  and  in  place  of  "the  Brothers," 
formed  the  celebrated  "  Scriblerus  Club,"  an  association 
rather  of  a  literary  than  a  political  character.  Oxford 
and  St.  John,  Swift,  Arbuthnot,  Pope,  and  Gay,  were 
members.  Satire  upon  the  abuse  of  human  learning 
was  their  leading  object.  The  name  originated  as  fol- 
lows.    Oxford  used  playfully  to  call  Swift  Martin,  and 


24  CLUB   LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

from  this  sprung  Martinus  Scriblerus.  Swift,  as  is 
well  known,  is  the  name  of  one  species  of  swallow,  (the 
largest  and  most  powerful  flier  of  the  tribe,)  and  Martin 
is  the  name  of  another  species,  the  wall- swallow,  which 
constructs  its  nest  in  buildings. 

Part  of  the  labours  of  the  Society  has  been  preserved 
in  P.  P.,  Clerk  of  the  Parish,  the  most  memorable 
satire  upon  Burnet's  History  of  his  Own  Time,  and 
part  has  been  rendered  immortal  by  the  Travels  of 
Lemuel  Gulliver ;  but,  says  Sir  Walter  Scott,  in  his 
Life  of  Swift,  "  the  violence  of  political  faction,  like  a 
storm  that  spares  the  laurel  no  more  than  the  cedar, 
dispersed  this  little  band  of  literary  brethren,  and  pre- 
vented the  accomplishment  of  a  task  for  which  talents 
so  various,  so  extended,  and  so  brilliant,  can  never  again 
be  united. " 

Oxford  and  Bolingbroke,  themselves  accomplished 
scholars,  patrons  and  friends  both  of  the  persons  and  to 
genius  thus  associated,  led  the  way,  by  their  mutual  ani- 
mosity, to  the  dissolution  of  the  confraternity.  Their 
discord  had  now  risen  to  the  highest  pitch.  Swift  tried 
the  force  of  humorous  expostulation  in  his  fable  of  the 
Fagot,  where  the  ministers  are  called  upon  to  contribute 
their  various  badges  of  office,  to  make  the  bundle  strong 
and  secure.  But  all  was  in  vain ;  and,  at  length,  tired 
with  this  scene  of  murmuring  and  discontent,  quarrel, 
misunderstanding,  and  hatred,  the  Dean,  who  was  almost 
the  only  common  friend  who  laboured  to  compose  these 
differences,  made  a  final  effort  at  reconciliation ;  but  his 
scheme  came  to  nothing,  and  Swift  retreated  from  the 
scene  of  discord,  without  taking  part  with  either  of  his 
contending  friends,  and  went  to  the  house  of  the  Re- 
verend Mr.  Gery,  at  Upper  Letcombe,  Berkshire,  where 


THE  CALVES'  HEAD  CLUB.         25 

he  resided  for  some  weeks,  in  the  strictest  seclusion. 
This  secession  of  Swift,  from  the  political  world  excited 
the  greatest  surprise :  the  public  wondered, — the  party 
writers  exulted  in  a  thousand  ineffectual  libels  against 
the  retreating  champion  of  the  high  church, — and  his 
friends  conjured  him  in  numerous  letters  to  return  and 
reassume  the  task  of  a  peacemaker ;  this  he  positively 
declined. 


THE  CALVES1  HEAD  CLUB. 

The  Calves'  Head  Club,  in  "  ridicule  of  the  memory 
of  Charles  I.,"  has  a  strange  history.  It  is  first  noticed 
in  a  tract  reprinted  in  the  Harleian  Miscellany .  It  is 
entitled  "The  Secret  History  of  the  Calves'  Head  Club ; 
or  the  Republican  unmasked.  Wherein  is  fully  shown 
the  Religion  of  the  Calves'  Head  Heroes,  in  their  Anni- 
versary Thanksgiving  Songs  on  the  30th  of  January,  by 
them  called  Anthems,  for  the  years  1693,  1694,  1695, 
1696,  1697.  Now  published  to  demonstrate  the  restless 
implacable  Spirit  of  a  certain  party  still  amongst  us, 
who  are  never  to  be  satisfied  until  the  present  Establish- 
ment in  Church  and  State  is  subverted.  The  Second 
Edition.  London,  1703."  The  Author  of  this  Secret 
History,  supposed  to  be  Ned  Ward,  attributed  the 
origin  of  the  Club  to  Milton,  and  some  other  friends  of 
the  Commonwealth,  in  opposition  to  Bishop  Nixon,  Dr. 
Sanderson,  and  others,  who  met  privately  every  30th  of 
January,  and  compiled  a  private  form  of  service  for  the 
day,  not  very  different  from  that  long  used.    "  After  the 


26  CLUB   LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

Restoration,"  says  the  writer,  "  the  eyes  of  the  govern- 
ment being  upon  the  whole  party,  they  were  obliged  to 
meet  with  a  great  deal  of  precaution ;  but  in  the  reign 
of  King  William  they  met  almost  in  a  public  manner, 
apprehending  no  danger."  The  writer  further  tells  us, 
lie  was  informed  that  it  was  kept  in  no  fixed  house,  but 
that  they  moved  as  they  thought  convenient.  The  place 
where  they  met  when  his  informant  was  with  them  was 
in  a  blind  alley  near  Moorfields,  where  an  axe  hung  up 
in  the  club-room,  and  was  reverenced  as  a  principal 
symbol  in  this  diabolical  sacrament.  Their  bill  of  fare 
was  a  large  dish  of  calves'  heads,  dressed  several  ways, 
by  which  they  represented  the  king  and  his  friends  who 
had  suffered  in  his  cause ;  a  large  pike,  with  a  small  one 
in  his  mouth,  as  an  emblem  of  tyranny ;  a  large  cod's 
head,  by  which  they  intended  to  represent  the  person  of 
the  king  singly ;  a  boar's  head  with  an  apple  in  its  mouth, 
to  represent  the  king  by  this  as  bestial,  as  by  their  other 
hieroglyphics  they  had  done  foolish  and  tyrannical. 
After  the  repast  was  over,  one  of  their  elders  presented 
an  Icon  Basilike,  which  was  with  great  solemnity  burnt 
upon  the  table,  whilst  the  other  anthems  were  singing. 
After  this,  another  produced  Milton's  Defensio  Populi 
Anglicani,  upon  which  all  laid  their  hands,  and  made  a 
protestation  in  form  of  an  oath  for  ever  to  stand  by  and 
maintain  the  same.  The  company  only  consisted  of  In- 
dependents and  Anabaptists;  and  the  famous  Jeremy 
White,  formerly  chaplain  to  Oliver  Cromwell,  who  no 
doubt  came  to  sanctify  with  his  pious  exhortations  the 
ribaldry  of  the  day,  said  grace.  After  the  table-cloth 
was  removed,  the  anniversary  anthem,  as  they  impiously 
called  it,  was  sung,  and  a  calf's  skull  filled  with  wine,  or 
other  liquor;  and  then  a  brimmer  went  about  to  the 


THE  CALVES  HEAD  CLUB.         27 

pious  memory  of  those  worthy  patriots  who  had  killed 
the  tyrant  and  relieved  their  country  from  his  arbitrary 
sway :  and,  lastly,  a  collection  was  made  for  the  mer- 
cenary scribbler,  to  which  every  man  contributed  accord- 
ing to  his  zeal  for  the  cause  and  ability  of  his  purse. 

The  tract  passed,  with  many  augmentations  as  value- 
less as  the  original  trash,  through  no  less  than  nine  edi- 
tions, the  last  dated  1716.  Indeed,  it  would  appear  to 
be  a  literary  fraud,  to  keep  alive  the  calumny.  All  the 
evidence  produced  concerning  the  meetings  is  from 
hearsay :  the  writer  of  the  Secret  History  had  never 
himself  been  present  at  the  Club;  and  his  friend  from 
whom  he  professes  to  have  received  his  information, 
though  a  Whig,  had  no  personal  knowledge  of  the  Club. 
The  slanderous  rumour  about  Milton  having  to  do  with 
the  institution  of  the  Club  may  be  passed  over  as  un- 
worthy of  notice,  this  untrustworthy  tract  being  the 
only  authority  for  it.  Lowndes  says,  "  this  miserable 
tract  has  been  attributed  to  the  author  of  Hudibras ;" 
but  it  is  altogether  unworthy  of  him. 

Observances,  insulting  to  the  memory  of  Charles  I., 
were  not  altogether  unknown.  Hearne  tells  us  that 
on  the  30th  of  January,  1706-7,  some  young  men  in 
All  Souls  College,  Oxford,  dined  together  at  twelve 
o' clock,  and  amused  themselves  with  cutting  off  the 
heads  of  a  number  of  woodcocks,  "  in  contempt  of  the 
memory  of  the  blessed  martyr."  They  tried  to  get 
calves'  -heads,  but  the  cook  refused  to  dress  them. 

Some  thirty  years  after,  there  occurred  a  scene  which 
seemed  to  give  colour  to  the  truth  of  the  Secret  History. 
On  January  30,  1735,  "  Some  young  noblemen  and  gen- 
tlemen met  at  a  tavern  in  Suffolk-street,  called  them- 
selves the  Calves'  Head  Club,  dressed  up  a  calf  s  head  in 


28  CLUB   LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

a  napkin,  and  after  some  hurras  threw  it  into  a  bonfire, 
and  dipped  napkins  in  their  red  wine  and  waved  them 
out  of  the  window.  The  mob  had  strong  beer  given  them, 
and  for  a  time  hallooed  as  well  as  the  best,  but  taking 
disgust  at  some  healths  proposed,  grew  so  outrageous 
that  they  broke  all  the  windows,  and  forced  themselves 
into  the  house ;  but  the  guards  being  sent  for,  prevented 
further  mischief.  The  Weekly  Chronicle  of  February  1, 
1735,  states  that  the  damage  was  estimated  at '  some  hun- 
dred pounds/  and  that  the  guards  were  posted  all  night 
in  the  street,  for  the  security  of  the  neighbourhood." 

In  I/Abbe  Le  Blanc's  Letters  we  find  this  account 
of  the  affair  : — "  Some  young  men  of  quality  chose 
to  abandon  themselves  to  the  debauchery  of  drinking 
healths  on  the  30th  of  January,  a  day  appointed  by 
the  Church  of  England  for  a  general  fast,  to  expiate  the 
murder  of  Charles  I.,  whom  they  honour  as  a  martyr. 
As  soon  as  they  were  heated  with  wine,  they  began  to 
sing.  This  gave  great  offence  to  the  people,  who  stopped 
before  the  tavern,  and  gave  them  abusive  language.  One 
of  these  rash  young  men  put  his  head  out  of  the  window 
and  drank  to  the  memory  of  the  army  which  dethroned 
this  King,  and  to  the  rebels  which  cut  off  his  head  upon 
a  scaffold.  The  stones  immediately  flew  from  all  parts,  the 
furious  populace  broke  the  windows  of  the  house,  and 
would  have  set  fire  to  it ;  and  these  silly  young  men  had 
a  great  deal  of  difficulty  to  save  themselves." 

Miss  Banks  tells  us  that  "Lord  Middlesex,  Lord 
Boyne,  and  Mr.  Seawallis  Shirley,  were  certainly  pre- 
sent ;  probably,  Lord  John  Sackville,  Mr.  Ponsonby, 
afterwards  Lord  Besborough,  was  not  there.  Lord 
Boyne's  finger  was  broken  by  a  stone  which  came  in  at 
the  window.     Lord  Harcourt  was  supposed  to  be  pre- 


THE  CALVES'  HEAD  CLUB,         29 

sent."  Horace  Walpole  adds  :  "  The  mob  destroyed  part 
of  the  house ;  Sir  William  (called  Hellfire)  Stanhope  was 
one  of  the  members." 

This  riotous  occurrence  was  the  occasion  of  some 
verses  in  The  Grub-street  Journal,  from  which  the  fol- 
lowing lines  may  be  quoted  as  throwing  additional  light 
on  the  scene  : — 

"  Strange  times  !  when  noble  peers,  secure  from  riot, 
Can't  keep  Noll's  annual  festival  in  quiet, 
Through  sashes  broke,  dirt,  stones,  and  brands  thrown  at  e'm, 
Which,  if  not  scand-  was  brand-alum  magnatum. 
Forced  to  run  down  to  vaults  for  safer  quarters, 
And  in  coal-holes  their  ribbons  hide  and  garters. 
They  thought  their  feast  in  dismal  fray  thus  ending, 
Themselves  to  shades  of  death  and  hell  descending  ; 
This  might  have  been,  had  stout  Clare  Market  mobsters, 
With  cleavers  arm'd,  outmarch'd  St.  James's  lobsters  ; 
Numskulls  they'd  split,  to  furnish  other  revels, 
And  make  a  Calves'-head  Feast  for  worms  and  devils." 

The  manner  in  which  Noll's  (Oliver  Cromwell's) 
"annual  festival"  is  here  alluded  to,  seems  to  show  that 
the  bonfire,  with  the  calf's-head  and  other  accompani- 
ments, had  been  exhibited  in  previous  years.  In  con- 
firmation of  this  fact,  there  exists  a  print  entitled  The 
True  Effigies  of  the  Members  of  the  Calves1  -Head  Club, 
held  on  the  30th  of  January,  1734,  in  Suffolk  Street,  in 
the  County  of  Middlesex ;  being  the  year  before  the 
riotous  occurrence  above  related.  This  print  shows  a 
bonfire  in  the  centre  of  the  foreground,  with  the  mob  ; 
in  the  background,  a  house  with  three  windows,  the 
central  window  exhibiting  two  men,  one  of  whom  is 
about  to  throw  the  calfVhead  into  the  bonfire  below. 
The  window  on  the  right  shows  three  persons  drinking 


30  CLUB   LIFE    OF    LONDON. 

healths ;  that  on  the  left;,  two  other  persons,  one  of 
whom  wears  a  mask,  and  has  an  axe  in  his  hand. 

There  are  two  other  prints,  one  engraved  by  the 
father  of  Vandergncht,  from  a  drawing  by  Hogarth. 

After  the  tablecloth  was  removed  (says  the  au- 
thor), an  anniversary  anthem  was  sung,  and  a  calf's- 
skull  filled  with  wine  or  other  liquor,  and  out  of  which 
the  company  drank  to  the  pious  memory  of  those  worthy 
patriots  who  had  killed  the  tyrant ;  and  lastly,  a  collec- 
tion was  made  for  the  writer  of  the  anthem,  to  which 
every  man  contributed  according  to  his  zeal  or  his 
means.  The  concluding  lines  of  the  anthem  for  the 
year  1697  are  as  follow  : — 

"  Advance  the  emblem  of  the  action, 

Fill  the  calf's  skull  full  of  wine  ; 
Drinking  ne'er  was  counted  faction, 

Men  and  gods  adore  the  vine. 
To  the  heroes  gone  before  us, 

Let's  renew  the  flowing  howl ; 
While  the  lustre  of  their  glories 

Shines  like  stars  from  pole  to  pole." 

The  laureate  of  the  Club  and  of  this  doggrel  was 
Benjamin  Bridgwater,  who,  alluding  to  the  observance 
of  the  30th  of  January  by  zealous  Royalists,  wrote  : — 

"  They  and  we,  this  day  observing, 
Differ  only  in  one  thing ; 
They  are  canting,  whining,  starving  ; 
We,  rejoicing,  drink,  and  sing." 

Among  Swift's  poems  will  be  remembered  "  Roland's 
Invitation  to  Dismal  to  dine  with  the  Calf's-Head 
Club"  :— 

"  While  an  alluding  hymn  some  artist  sings, 
We  toast '  Confusion  to  the  race  of  kings.'  " 


THE  CALVES  HEAD  CLUB.         31 

Wilson,  in  his  Life  of  De  Foe,  doubts  the  truthful- 
ness of  Ward's  narrative,  but  adds  :  "  In  the  frighted 
mind  of  a  high-flying  churchman,  which  was  continually 
haunted  by  such  scenes,  the  caricature  would  easily  pass 
for  a  likeness."  "  It  is  probable,"  adds  the  honest  bio- 
grapher of  De  Foe,  "  that  the  persons  thus  collected  to- 
gether to  commemorate  the  triumph  of  their  principles, 
although  in  a  manner  dictated  by  bad  taste,  and  out- 
rageous to  humanity,  would  have  confined  themselves 
to  the  ordinary  methods  of  eating  and  drinking,  if  it 
had  not  been  for  the  ridiculous  farce  so  generally  acted 
by  the  Royalists  upon  the  same  day.  The  trash  that  is- 
sued from  the  pulpit  in  this  reign,  upon  the  30th  of 
January,  was  such  as  to  excite  the  worst  passions  in 
the  hearers.  Nothing  can  exceed  the  grosness  of  lan- 
guage employed  upon  these  occasions.  Forgetful  even 
of  common  decorum,  the  speakers  ransacked  the  voca- 
bulary of  the  vulgar  for  terms  of  vituperation,  and 
hurled  their  anathemas  with  wrath  and  fury  against  the 
objects  of  their  hatred.  The  terms  rebel  and  fanatic 
were  so  often  upon  their  lips,  that  they  became  the  re- 
proach of  honest  men,  who  preferred  the  scandal  to  the 
slavery  they  attempted  to  establish.  Those  who  could 
profane  the  pulpit  with  so  much  rancour  in  the  support 
of  senseless  theories,  and  deal  it  out  to  the  people  for 
religion,  had  little  reason  to  complain  of  a  few  absurd 
men  who  mixed  politics  and  calves'  heads  at  a  tavern ; 
and  still  less,  to  brand  a  whole  religious  community 
with  their  actions." 

The  strange  story  was  believed  till  our  own  time, 
when  it  was  fully  disproved  by  two  letters  written  a  few 
days  after  the  riotous  occurrence,  by  Mr.  A.  Smyth,  to 
Mr.  Spence,  and  printed  in  the  Appendix  to  his  Artec- 


32  CLUB    LIFE   OF    LONDON. 

dotes,  2nd  edit.  1858:  in  one  it  is  stated,  "The  affair 
has  been  grossly  misrepresented  all  over  the  town,  and 
in  most  of  the  public  papers :  there  was  no  calf 's-head 
exposed  at  the  window,  and  afterwards  thrown  into  the 
fire,  no  napkins  dipt  in  claret  to  represent  blood,  nor 
nothing  that  could  give  any  colour  to  any  such  reports. 
The  meeting  (at  least  with  regard  to  our  friends)  was 
entirely  accidental,"  etc.  The  second  letter  alike  con- 
tradicts the  whole  story ;  and  both  attribute  much  of 
the  disturbance  to  the  unpopularity  of  the  Administra- 
tion ;  their  health  being  unluckily  proposed,  raised  a 
few  faint  claps  but  a  general  hiss,  and  then  the  disturb- 
ance began.  A  letter  from  Lord  Middlesex  to  S pence, 
gives  a  still  fuller  account  of  the  affair.  By  the  style  of 
the  letter  one  may  judge  what  sort  of  heads  the  mem- 
bers had,  and  what  was  reckoned  the  polite  way  of  speak- 
ing to  a  waiter  in  those  days : — 

"Whitehall,  Feb.  ye  9th,  1735. 

"  Dear  Spanco, — I  don't  in  the  least  doubt  but  long 
before  this  time  the  noise  of  the  riot  on  the  30th  of 
January  has  reached  you  at  Oxford ;  and  though  there 
has  been  as  many  lies  and  false  reports  raised  upon  the 
occasion  in  this  good  city  as  any  reasonable  man  could 
expect,  yet  I  fancy  even  those  may  be  improved  or  in- 
creased before  they  come  to  you.  Now,  that  you  may 
be  able  to  defend  your  friends  (as  I  don't  in  the  least 
doubt  you  have  an  inclination  to  do),  I'll  send  you  the 
matter  of  fact  literally  and  truly  as  it  happened,  upon 
my  honour.  Eight  of  us  happened  to  meet  together  the 
30th  of  January,  it  might  have  been  the  10th  of  June, 
or  any  other  day  in  the  year,  but  the  mixture  of  the 
company  has  convinced  most  reasonable  people  by  this 


THE  CALVES  HEAD  CLUB.         33 

time  that  it  was  not  a  designed  or  premeditated  affair. 
We  met,  then,  as  I  told  you  before,  by  chance  upon 
this  day,  and  after  dinner,  having  drunk  very  plentifully, 
especially  some  of  the  company,  some  of  us  going  to  the 
window  unluckily  saw  a  little  nasty  fire  made  by  some 
boys  in  the  street,  of  straw  I  think  it  was,  and  imme- 
diately cried  out,  '  D — n  it,  why  should  not  we  have  a 
fire  as  well  as  anybody  else  V  Up  comes  the  drawer, 
'  D — n  you,  you  rascal,  get  us  a  bonfire/  Upon  which 
the  imprudent  puppy  runs  down,  and  without  making 
any  difficulty  (which  he  might  have  done  by  a  thousand 
excuses,  and  which  if  he  had,  in  all  probability,  some  of 
us  would  have  come  more  to  our  senses),  sends  for  the 
faggots,  and  in  an  instant  behold  a  large  fire  blazing 
before  the  door.  Upon  which  some  of  us,  wiser,  or 
rather  soberer  than  the  rest,  bethinking  themselves  then, 
for  the  first  time,  what  day  it  was,  and  fearing  the  con- 
sequences a  bonfire  on  that  day  might  have,  proposed 
drinking  loyal  and  popular  healths  to  the  mob  (out  of 
the  window),  which  by  this  time  was  very  great,  in 
order  to  convince  them  we  did  not  intend  it  as  a  ridicule 
upon  that  day.  The  healths  that  were  drank  out  of  the 
window  were  these,  and  these  only :  The  King,  Queen, 
and  Royal  Family,  the  Protestant  Succession,  Liberty 
and  Property,  the  present  Administration.  Upon  which 
the  first  stone  was  flung,  and  then  began  our  siege : 
which,  for  the  time  it  lasted,  was  at  least  as  furious  as 
that  of  Philipsbourg ;  it  was  more  than  an  hour  before 
we  got  any  assistance ;  the  more  sober  part  of  us,  doing 
this,  had  a  fine  time  of  it,  fighting  to  prevent  fighting ; 
in  danger  of  being  knocked  on  the  head  by  the  stones 
that  came  in  at  the  windows ;  in  danger  of  being  run 
through  by  our  mad  friends,  who,  sword  in  hand,  swore 

VOL.   I.  D 


34  CLUB   LIFE    OF   LONDON. 

they  would  go  out,  though  they  first  made  their  way 
through  us.  At  length  the  justice,  attended  by  a  strong 
body  of  guards,  came  and  dispersed  the  populace.  The 
person  who  first  stirred  up  the  mob  is  known ;  he  first 
gave  them  money,  and  then  harangued  them  in  a  most 
violent  manner;  I  don't  know  if  he  did  not  fling  the 
first  stone  himself.  He  is  an  Irishman  and  a  priest, 
and  belonging  to  Imberti,  the  Venetian  Envoy.  This 
is  the  whole  story  from  which  so  many  calves'  heads, 
bloody  napkins,  and  the  Lord  knows  what,  has  been 
made ;  it  has  been  the  talk  of  the  town  and  the  country, 
and  small  beer  and  bread  and  cheese  to  my  friends  the 
garretteers  in  Grub-street,  for  these  few  days  past.  I,  as 
well  as  your  friends,  hope  to  see  you  soon  in  town.  After 
so  much  prose,  I  can't  help  ending  with  a  few  verses : — 

"  O  had  I  lived  in  merry  Charles's  days, 
When  dull  the  wise  were  called,  and  wit  had  praise  ; 
When  deepest  politics  could  never  pass 
For  aught,  but  surer  tokens  of  an  ass ; 
When  not  the  frolicks  of  one  drunken  night 
Could  touch  your  honour,  make  your  fame  less  bright ; 
Tho'  mob-form'd  scandal  rag'd,  and  Papal  spight." 

"  Middlesex." 

To  sum  up,  the  whole  affair  was  a  hoax,  kept  alive  by 
the  pretended  "  Secret  History."  An  accidental  riot, 
following  a  debauch  on  one  30th  of  January,  has  been 
distributed  between  two  successive  years,  owing  to  a 
misapprehension  of  the  mode  of  reckoning  time  preva- 
lent in  the  early  part  of  the  last  century ;  and  there  is 
no  more  reason  for  believing  in  the  existence  of  a 
Calves'  Head  Club  in  ]  734-5  than  there  is  for  believing 
it  exists  in  1864. 


35 


THE   KING'S    HEAD   CLUB. 

Another  Club  of  this  period  was  the  "  Club  of  Kings," 
or  "the  King  Club/'  all  the  members  of  which  were 
called  "  King."  Charles  himself  was  an  honorary  mem- 
ber. 

A  more  important  Club  was  "the  King's  Head 
Club/'  instituted  for  affording  the  Court  and  Govern- 
ment support,  and  to  influence  Protestant  zeal :  it  was 
designed  by  the  unscrupulous  Shaftesbury :  the  mem- 
bers were  a  sort  of  Decembrists  of  their  day ;  but  they 
failed  in  their  aim,  and  ultimately  expired  under  the 
ridicule  of  being  designated  "  Hogs  in  armour."  "  The 
gentlemen  of  that  worthy  Society,"  says  Roger  North, 
in  his  Examen,  "  held  their  evening  sessions  continually 
at  the  King's  Head  Tavern,  over  against  the  Inner 
Temple  Gate.  But  upon  the  occasion  of  the  signal  of  a 
green  ribbon,  agreed  to  be  worn  in  their  hats  in  the  days 
of  street  engagements,  like  the  coats-of-arms  of  valiant 
knights  of  old,  whereby  all  warriors  of  the  Society 
might  be  distinguished,  and  not  mistake  friends  for 
enemies,  they  were  called  also  the  Green  Ribbon  Club. 
Their  seat  was  in  a  sort  of  Carfour  at  Chancery-lane 
end,  a  centre  of  business  and  company  most  proper  for 
such  anglers  of  fools.  The  house  was  double  balconied 
in  the  front,  as  may  be  yet  seen,  for  the  clubsters  to 
issue  forth  in  fresco  with  hats  and  no  peruques ;  pipes  in 
their  mouths,  merry  faces,  and  diluted  throats,  for  vocal 
encouragement  of  the  canaglia  below,  at  bonfires,  on 
usual  and  unusual  occasions.   They  admitted  all  strangers 

d  2 


36  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON. 

that  were  confidingly  introduced ;  for  it  was  a  main  end 
of  their  Institution  to  make  proselytes,  especially  of  the 
raw  estated  youth,  newly  come  to  town.  This  copious 
Society  were  to  the  faction  in  and  about  London  a  sort 
of  executive  power,  and,  by  correspondence,  all  over 
England.  The  resolves  of  the  more  retired  councils  of 
the  ministry  of  the  Faction  were  brought  in  here,  and 
orally  insinuated  to  the  company,  whether  it  were  lyes, 
defamations,  commendations,  projects,  etc.,  and  so,  like 
water  diffused,  spread  all  over  the  town ;  whereby  that 
which  was  digested  at  the  Club  over  night,  was,  like 
nourishment,  at  evpry  assembly,  male  and  female,  the 
next  day : — and  thus  the  younglings  tasted  of  political 
administration,  and  took  themselves  for  notable  counsel- 
lors." 

North  regarded  the  Green  Ribbon  Club  as  the  focus 
of  disaffection  and  sedition,  but  his  mere  opinions  are 
not  to  be  depended  on.  Walpole  calls  him  "the  volu- 
minous squabbler  in  behalf  of  the  most  unjustifiable  ex- 
cesses of  Charles  the  Second's  Administration."  Never- 
theless, his  relation  of  facts  is  very  curious,  and  there 
is  no  reason  to  discredit  his  account  of  those  popular 
"  routs,"  to  use  his  own  phrase,  to  which  he  was  an  eye- 
witness. 

The  conversation  and  ordinary  discourse  of  the  Club', 
he  informs  us,  "  was  chiefly  upon  the  subject  of  Braveur, 
in  defending  the  cause  of  Liberty  and  Property ;  what 
every  true  Protestant  and  Englishman  ought  to  venture 
to  do,  rather  than  be  overpowered  with  Popery  and 
Slavery."  They  were  provided  with  silk  armour  for 
defence,  "  against  the  time  that  Protestants  were  to  be 
massacred,"  and,  in  order  "to  be  assailants  upon  fair 
occasion,"  they  had  recommended  to  them,  "  a  certain 


THE   KING'S   HEAD   CLUB.  37 

pocket  weapon  which,  for  its  design  and  efficacy,  had 
the  honour  to  be  called  a  Protestant  Flail.  The  handles 
resembled  a  farrier's  blood-stick,  and  the  fall  was  joined 
to  the  end  by  a  strong  nervous  ligature,  that,  in  its 
swing,  fell  just  short  of  the  hand,  and  was  made  of 
Lignum  Vitce,  or  rather,  as  the  Poets  termed  it,  Mortis" 
This  engine  was  "  for  street  and  crowd-work,  and  lurk- 
ing perdue  in  a  coat-pocket,  might  readily  sally  out  to 
execution ;  and  so,  by  clearing  a  great  Hall  or  Piazza, 
or  so,  carry  an  Election  by  choice  of  Polling,  called 
knocking  down  I"  The  armour  of  the  hogs  is  further 
described  as  "  silken  back,  breast,  and  potts,  that  were 
pretended  to  be  pistol-proof,  in  which  any  man  dressed 
up  was  as  safe  as  in  a  house,  for  it  was  impossible  any 
one  would  go  to  strike  him  for  laughing,  so  ridiculous 
was  the  figure,  as  they  say,  of  hogs  in  armour." 

In  describing  the  Pope-burning  procession  of  the  17th 
of  November,  1680,  Roger  North  says,  that  il  the  Rab- 
ble first  changed  their  title,  and  were  called  the  Mob  in 
the  assemblies  of  this  Club.  It  was  their  Beast  of  Bur- 
then, and  called  first,  mobile  vulgus,  but  fell  naturally 
into  the  contraction  of  one  svllable,  and  ever  since  is  be- 
come  proper  English.''  # 

We  shall  not  describe  these  Processions :  the  grand 
object  was  the  burning  of  figures,  prepared  for  the  occa- 
sion, and  brought  by  the  Mob  in  procession,  from  the 
further  end  of  London  with  "staffiers  and  link -boys, 
sounding/'  and  "coming  up  near  to  the  Club-Quality  in 
the  balconies,  against  which  was  provided  a  huge  bon- 
fire ; "  "  and  then,  after  numerous  platoons  and  volleys 
of  squibs  discharged,  these  Bamboches  were,  with  re- 
doubled noise,  committed  to  the  flames."  These  out- 
rageous celebrations  were  suppressed  in  1683. 


38  CLUB  LIFE   OF  LONDON. 


STREET  CLUBS. 

During  the  first  quarter  of  the  last  century,  there  were 
formed  in  the  metropolis  "  Street  Clubs/'  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  same  street ;  so  that  a  man  had  but  to  stir 
a  few  houses  from  his  own  door  to  enjoy  his  Club  and  the 
societjr  of  his  neighbours.  There  was  another  induce- 
ment :  the  streets  were  then  so  unsafe,  that  "  the  nearer 
home  a  man's  club  lay,  the  better  for  his  clothes  and  his 
purse.  Even  riders  in  coaches  were  not  safe  from  mounted 
footpads,  and  from  the  danger  of  upsets  in  the  huge  ruts 
and  pits  which  intersected  the  streets.  The  passenger 
who  could  not  afford  a  coach  had  to  pick  his  way,  after 
dark,  along  the  dimly-lighted,  ill-paved  thoroughfares, 
seamed  by  filthy  open  kennels,  besprinkled  from  pro- 
jecting spouts,  bordered  by  gaping  cellars,  guarded  by 
feeble  old  watchmen,  and  beset  with  daring  street-rob- 
bers. But  there  were  worse  terrors  of  the  night  than 
the  chances  of  a  splashing  or  a  sprain, — risks  beyond 
those  of  an  interrogatory  by  the  watch,  or  of  a  '  stand 
and  deliver' from  a  footpad."  These  were  the  lawless 
rake-hells  who,  banded  into  clubs,  spread  terror  and  dis- 
may through  the  streets.  Sir  John  Fielding,  in  his 
cautionary  book,  published  in  1776,  described  the  dan- 
gerous attacks  of  intemperate  rakes  in  hot  blood,  who, 
occasionally  and  by  way  of  bravado,  scour  the  streets,  to 
show  their  manhood,  not  their  humanity ;  put  the  watch 
to  flight ;  and  now  and  then  murdered  some  harmless,  in- 
offensive person.  Thus,  although  there  are  in  London  no 
ruffians  and  bravos,  as  in  some  parts  of  Spain  and  Italy* 


THE   MOHOCKS.  39 

who  will  kill  for  hire,  yet  there  is  no  resisting  anywhere 
the  wild  sallies  of  youth,  and  the  extravagances  that  flow 
from  debauchery  and  wine."  One  of  our  poets  has  given 
a  necessary  caution,  especially  to  strangers,  in  the  fol- 
lowing lines  : — 

"  Prepare  for  death,  if  here  at  night  you  roam, 
And  sign  your  will  before  you  sup  from  home ; 
Some  fiery  fop  with  new  commission  vain, 
Who  sleeps  on  brambles  'till  he  kills  his  man ; 
Some  frolic  drunkard,  reeling  from  a  feast, 
Provokes  a  broil,  and  stabs  you  in  a  jest. 
Yet,  ev'n  these  heroes,  mischievously  gay, 
Lords  of  the  street,  and  terrors  of  the  way  ; 
Flush'd  as  they  are  with  folly,  youth,  and  wine, 
Their  prudent  insults  to  the  poor  confine ; 
Afar  they  mark  the  flambeau's  bright  approach, 
And  shun  the  shining  train  and  gilded  coach." 


THE  MOHOCKS. 

This  nocturnal  fraternity  met  in  the  days  of  Queen 
Anne  :  but  it  had  been  for  many  previous  years  the  favour- 
ite amusement  of  dissolute  young  men  to  form  themselves 
into  Clubs  and  Associations  for  committing  all  sorts  of 
excesses  in  the  public  streets,  and  alike  attacking  orderly 
pedestrians,  and  even  defenceless  women.  These  Clubs 
took  various  slang  designations.  At  the  Restoration 
they  were  "Mums"  and  "  Tityre-tus."  ;  They  were  suc- 
ceeded by  the  "  Hectors  w  and  "  Scourers,"  when,  says 
Shadwell,  "  a  man  could  not  go  from  the  Rose  Tavern 
to  the  Piazza  once,  but  he  must  venture  his  life  twice." 
Then  came  the   "  Nickers,"  whose  delight  it  was  to 


40  CLUB   LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

smash  windows  with  showers  of  halfpence;  next  were 
the  "  Hawkabites ;"  and  lastly,  the  "  Mohocks."  These 
last  are  described  in  the  Spectator,  No.  324,  as  a  set  of 
men  who  have  borrowed  their  name  from  a  sort  of  can- 
nibals, in  India,  who  subsist  by  plundering  and  devour- 
ing all  the  nations  about  them.  The  president  is  styled 
u  Emperor  of  the  Mohocks ;"  and  his  ar,ms  are  a  Turkish 
crescent,  which  his  imperial  majesty  bears  at  present  in 
a  very  extraordinary  manner  engraven  upon  his  forehead  ; 
in  imitation  of  which  the  Members  prided  themselves  in 
tattooing ;  or  slashing  people's  faces  with,  as  Gay  wrote, 
"new  invented  wounds."  Their  avowed  design  was 
mischief,  and  upon  this  foundation  all  their  rules  and 
orders  were  framed.  They  took  care  to  drink  themselves 
to  a  pitch  beyond  reason  or  humanity,  and  then  made  a 
general  sally,  and  attack  all  who  were  in  the  streets. 
Some  were  knocked  down,  others  stabbed,  and  others  cut 
and  carbonadoed.  To  put  the  watch  to  a  total  rout,  and 
mortify  some  of  those  inoffensive  militia,  was  reckoned  a 
coup  oV  eclat.  They  had  special  barbarities,  which  they 
executed  upon  their  prisoners.  "  Tipping  the  lion  "  was 
squeezing  the  nose  flat  to  the  face,  and  boring  out  the 
eyes  with  their  fingers.  "  Dancing-masters  "  were  those 
who  taught  their  scholars  to  cut  capers  by  running  swords 
through  their  legs.  The  "  Tumblers "  set  women  on 
their  heads.  The  "  Sweaters  "  worked  in  parties  of  half- 
a-dozen,  surrounding  their  victims  with  the  points  of  their 
swords.  The  Sweater  upon  whom  the  patient  turned 
his  back,  pricked  him  in  "that  part  whereon  school- 
boys are  punished;"  and,  as  he  veered  round  from  the 
smart,  each  Sweater  repeated  this  pinking  operation; 
"  after  this  jig  had  gone  two  or  three  times  round,  and 
the  patient  was  thought  to  have  sweat  sufficiently,  he 


THE    MOHOCKS.  41 

was  very  handsomely  rubbed  down  by  some  attendants, 
who  carried  with  them  instruments  for  that  purpose, 
when  they  discharged  him.  An  adventure  of  this  kind 
is  narrated  in  No.  332  of  the  Spectator :  it  is  there 
termed  a  bagnio,  for  the  orthography  of  which  the  writer 
consults  the  sign-posts  of  the  bagnio  in  Newgate-street 
and  that  in  Chancery-lane. 

Another  savage  diversion  of  the  Mohocks  was  their 
thrusting  women  into  barrels,  and  rolling  them  down 
Snow  or  Ludgate  Hill,  as  thus  sung  by  Gay,  in  his 
Trivia : — 

"  Now  is  the  time  that  rakes  their  revels  keep  ; 
Kindlers  of  riot,  enemies  of  sleep. 
His  scattered  pence  the  flying  Nicker  flings, 
And  with  the  copper  shower  the  casement  rings. 
Who  has  not  heard  the  Scourer's  midnight  fame  ? 
Who  has  not  trembled  at  the  Mohock's  name  ? 
Was  there  a  watchman  took  his  hourly  rounds 
Safe  from  their  blows,  or  new-invented  wounds  ? 
I  pass  their  desperate  deeds  and  mischiefs,  done 
Where  from  Snow -hill  black  steepy  torrents  run; 
How  matrons,  hooped  within  the  hogshead's  womb, 
Were  tumbled  furious  thence  ;  the  rolling  tomb 
O'er  the  stones  thunders,  bounds  from  side  to  side  : 
So  Regulus,  to  save  his  country,  died." 

Swift  was  inclined  to  doubt  these  savageries,  yet  went 
in  some  apprehension  of  them.  He  writes,  just  at  the 
date  of  the  above  Spectator :  "  Here  is  the  devil  and  all 
to  do  with  these  Mohocks.  Grub-street  papers  about 
them  fly  like  lightning,  and  a  list  printed  of  near  eighty 
put  into  several  prisons,  and  all  a  lie,  and  I  begin  to 
think  there  is  no  truth,  or  very  little,  in  the  whole  story. 
He  that  abused  Davenant  was  a  drunken  gentleman ; 
none  of  that  gang.     My  man  tells  me  that  one  of  the 


42  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON. 

lodgers  heard  in  a  coffee-house,  publicly,  that  one  design 
of  the  Mohocks  was  upon  me,  if  they  could  catch  me ; 
and  though  I  believe  nothing  of  it,  I  forbear  walking 
late;  and  they  have  put  me  to  the  charge  of  some 
shillings  already." — Journal  to  Stella,  1712. 

Swift  mentions,  among  the  outrages  of  the  Mohocks, 
that  two  of  them  caught  a  maid  of  old  Lady  Winchilsea's 
at  the  door  of  her  house  in  the  Park  with  a  candle,  and 
had  just  lighted  out  somebody.  They  cut  all  her  face, 
and  beat  her  without  any  provocation. 

At  length,  the  villanies  of  the  Mohocks  were  at- 
tempted to  be  put  down  by  a  Royal  proclamation,  issued 
on  the  18th  of  March,  1712 :  this,  however,  had  very 
little  effect,  for  we  soon  find  Swift  exclaiming:  "They 
go  on  still,  and  cut  people's  faces  every  night !  but  they 
sha'n't  cut  mine ;  I  like  it  better  as  it  is." 

Within  a  week  after  the  Proclamation,  it  was  pro- 
posed that  Sir  Roger  de  Coverley  should  go  to  the  play, 
where  he  had  not  been  for  twenty  years.  The  Spectator, 
No.  335,  says :  "  My  friend  asked  me  if  there  would 
not  be  some  danger  in  coming  home  late,  in  case  the 
Mohocks  should  be  abroad.  fI  assure  you/  says  he, 
f  I  thought  I  had  fallen  into  their  hands  last  night ;  for 
I  observed  two  or  three  lusty  black  men  that  followed 
me  half-way  up  Fleet- street,,  and  mended  their  pace  be- 
hind me,  in  proportion  as  I  put  on  to  get  away  from 
them."  However,  Sir  Roger  threw  them  out,  at  the 
end  of  Norfolk  Street,  where  he  doubled  the  corner, 
and  got  shelter  in  his  lodgings  before  they  could  imagine 
what  was  become  of  him.  It  was  finally  arranged  that 
Captain  Sentry  should  make  one  of  the  party  for  the 
play,  and  that  Sir  Roger's  coach  should  be  got  ready, 
the  fore  wheels  being  newly  mended.     "  The  Captain," 


THE   MOHOCKS.  43 

says  the  Spectator,  "  who  did  not  fail  to  meet  me  at  the 
appointed  hour,  bid  Sir  Roger  fear  nothing,  for  that  he 
had  put  on  the  same  sword  which  he  made  use  of  at  the 
battle  of  Steenkirk.  Sir  Roger's  servants,  and  among 
the  rest,  my  old  friend  the  butler,  had,  I  found,  pro- 
vided themselves  with  good  oaken  plants,  to  attend  their 
master  upon  this  occasion.  When  he  placed  him  in 
his  coach,  with  myself  at  his  left  hand,  the  Captain 
before  him,  and  his  butler  at  the  head  of  his  footmen  in 
the  rear,  we  convoyed  him  in  safety  to  the  playhouse." 
The  play  was  Ambrose  Phillips's  new  tragedy  of  The 
Distressed  Mother :  at  its  close,  Sir  Roger  went  out 
fully  satisfied  with  his  entertainment;  and,  says  the 
Spectator,  "  we  guarded  him  to  his  lodging  in  the  same 
manner  that  we  guarded  him  to  the  playhouse." 

The  subject  is  resumed  with  much  humour,  by  Bud- 
gell,  in  the  Spectator,  No.  347,  where  the  doubts  as  to 
the  actual  existence  of  Mohocks  are  examined.  "  They 
will  have  it,"  says  the  Spectator,  "that  the  Mohocks 
are  like  those  spectres  and  apparitions  which  frighten 
several  towns  and  villages  in  Her  Majesty's  dominions, 
though  they  were  never  seen  by  any  of  the  inhabitants. 
Others  are  apt  to  think  that  these  Mohocks  are  a  kind 
of  bull-beggars,  first  invented  by  prudent  married  men 
and  masters  of  families,  in  order  to  deter  their  wives 
and  daughters  from  taking  the  air  at  unseasonable  hours; 
and  that  when  they  tell  them  f  the  Mohocks  will  catch 
them/  it  is  a  caution  of  the  same  nature  with  that  of 
our  forefathers,  when  they  bid  their  children  have  a  care 
of  Raw-head  and  Bloody-bones."  Then  we  have,  from  a 
Correspondent  of  the  Spectator,  "  the  manifesto  of  Taw 
Waw  Eben  Zan  Kaladar,  Emperor  of  the  Mohocks," 
vindicating  his  imperial  dignity  from  the  false  aspersions 


44  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON. 

cast  on  it,  signifying  the  imperial  abhorrence  and  detes- 
tation of  such  tumultuous  and  irregular  proceedings; 
and  notifying  that  all  wounds,  hurts,  damage,  or  detri- 
ment, received  in  limb  or  limbs,  otherwise  than  shall  be 
hereafter  specified,  shall  be  committed  to  the  care  of 
the  Emperor's  surgeon,  and  cured  at  his  own  expense, 
in  some  one  or  other  of  those  hospitals  which  he  is  erect- 
ing for  that  purpose. 

Among  other  things  it  is  decreed  "  that  they  never 
tip  the  lion  upon  man,  woman,  or  child,  till  the  clock  at 
St.  Dunstan's  shall  have  struck  one;"  "that  the  sweat 
be  never  given  till  between  the  hours  of  one  and  two;" 
"  that  the  sweaters  do  establish  their  hummums  in  such 
close  places,  alleys,  nooks  and  corners,  that  the  patient 
or  patients  may  not  be  in  danger  of  catching  cold;" 
"that  the  tumblers,  to  whose  care  we  chiefly  commit 
the  female  sex,  confine  themselves  to  Drury-lane  and 
the  purlieus  of  the  Temple,"  etc.  "  Given  from  our 
Court  at  the  Devil  Tavern,"  etc. 

The  Mohocks  held  together  until  nearly  the  end  of 
the  reign  of  George  the  First. 


BLASPHEMOUS    CLUBS. 

The  successors  of  the  Mohocks  added  blasphemy  to 
riot.  Smollett  attributes  the  profaneness  and  profligacy 
of  the  period  to  the  demoralization  produced  by  the 
South  Sea  Bubble ;  and  Clubs  were  formed  specially  for 
the  indulgence  of  debauchery  and  profaneness.  Promi- 
nent among  these  was  "  the  Hell-fire  Club,"  of  which 
the  Duke  of  Wharton  was  a  leading  spirit : — 


MUG-HOUSE   CLUBS.  45 

"  Wharton,  the  scorn  and  wonder  of  our  days, 
Whose  ruling  passion  was  the  lust  of  praise. 
Born  with  whate'er  could  win  it  from  the  wise, 
Women  and  fools  must  like  him,  or  he  dies. 
Though  wondering  senates  hung  on  all  he  spoke, 
The  club  must  hail  him  master  of  the  joke." — Pope. 

So  high  did  the  tide  of  profaneness  run  at  this  time, 
that  a  Bill  was  brought  into  the  House  of  Lords  for  its 
suppression.  It  was  in  a  debate  on  this  Bill  that  the 
Earl  of  Peterborough  declared,  that  though  he  was  for 
a  Parliamentary  King,  he  was  against  a  Parliamentary 
religion ;  and  that  the  Duke  of  Wharton  pulled  an  old 
family  Bible  out  of  his  pocket,  in  order  to  controvert 
certain  arguments  delivered  from  the  episcopal  bench. 


MUG-HOUSE   CLUBS. 

Among  the  political  Clubs  of  the  metropolis  in  the 
early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  one  of  the  most 
popular  was  the  Mug-house  Club,  which  met  in  a  great 
Hall  in  Long  Acre  every  Wednesday  and  Saturday, 
during  the  winter.  The  house  received  its  name  from 
the  simple  circumstance,  that  each  member  drank  his 
ale  (the  only  liquor  used)  out  of  a  separate  mug.  The 
Club  is  described  as  a  mixture  of  gentlemen,  lawyers, 
and  statesmen,  who  met  seldom  under  a  hundred.  In 
A  Journey  through  England,  1 722,  we  read  of  this  Club  : 

"  But  the  most  diverting  and  amusing  of  all  is  the 
Mug-house  Club  in  Long  Acre. 

"  They  have  a  grave  old  Gentleman,  in  his  own  gray 
Hairs,  now  within  a  few  months  of  Ninety  years  old,  who 


46  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON. 

is  their  President,  and  sits  in  an  arm'd  chair  some  steps 
higher  than  the  rest  of  the  company  to  keep  the  whole 
Room  in  order.  A  Harp  plays  all  the  time  at  the  lower 
end  of  the  Room  ;  and  every  now  and  then  one  or  other 
of  the  Company  rises  and  entertains  the  rest  with  a  song, 
and  (by  the  by)  some  are  good  Masters.  Here  is  no- 
thing drunk  but  Ale,  and  every  Gentleman  hath  his 
separate  Mug,  which  he  chalks  on  the  Table  where  he 
sits  as  it  is  brought  in ;  and  every  one  retires  when  he 
pleases,  as  from  a  Coffee-house. 

"  The  Room  is  always  so  diverted  with  Songs,  and 
drinking  from  one  Table  to  another  to  one  another's 
Healths,  that  there  is  no  room  for  Politicks,  or  anything 
that  can  sow'r  conversation. 

"  One  must  be  there  by  seven  to  get  Room,  and  after 
ten  the  Company  are  for  the  most  part  gone. 

"  This  is  a  Winter's  Amusement,  that  is  agreeable 
enough  to  a  Stranger  for  once  or  twice,  and  he  is  well 
diverted  with  the  different  Humours,  when  the  Mugs 
overflow." 

Although  in  the  early  days  of  this  Club  there  was  no 
room  for  politics,  or  anything  that  could  sour  conversa- 
tion, the  Mug-house  subsequently  became  a  rallying-place 
for  the  most  virulent  political  antagonism,  arising  out  of 
the  change  of  dynasty,  a  weighty  matter  to  debate  over 
mugs  of  ale.  The  death  of  Anne  brought  on  the  Ha- 
nover succession.  The  Tories  had  then  so  much  the 
better  of  the  other  party,  that  they  gained  the  mob  on 
all  public  occasions  to  their  side.  It  then  became 
necessary  for  King  George's  friends  to  do  something  to 
counteract  this  tendency.  Accordingly,  they  esta- 
blished Mug-houses,  like  that  of  Long  Acre,  through- 
out the  metropolis,  for  well-affected  tradesmen  to  meet 


MUG-HOUSE   CLUBS.  47 

and  keep  up  the  spirit  of  loyalty  to  the  Protestant  suc- 
cession. First,  they  had  one  in  St.  John's-lane,  chiefly 
under  the  patronage  of  Mr.  Blenman,  member  of  the 
Middle  Temple,  who  took  for  his  motto,  "  Pro  rege  et 
lege/'  Then  arose  the  Roebuck  Mug-house,  in  Cheap- 
side,  the  haunt  of  a  fraternity  of  young  men,  who  had 
been  organized  for  political  action  before  the  end  of  the 
late  reign. 

According  to  a  pamphlet  on  the  subject,  dated  in 
1717,  "the  next  Mug-houses  opened  in  the  City  were  at 
Mrs.  Read's,  in  Salisbury -court,  in  Fleet-street,  and  at 
the  Harp  in  Tower-street,  and  another  at  the  Roebuck  in 
Whitechapel.  About  the  same  time  several  other  Mug- 
houses  were  erected  in  the  suburbs,  for  the  reception 
and  entertainment  of  the  like  loyal  Societies  :  viz.  one  at 
the  Ship,  in  Tavistock-street,  Covent  Garden,  which  is 
mostly  frequented  by  royal  officers  of  the  army,  another 
at  the  Black  Horse,  in  Queen-street  near  Lincoln's  Inn 
Fields,  set  up  and  carried  on  by  gentlemen,  servants  to 
that  noble  patron  of  loyalty,  to  whom  this  vindication  of 
it  is  inscribed  [the  Duke  of  Newcastle]  ;  a  third  was  set 
up  at  the  Nag's  Head,  in  James-street,  Covent  Garden ; 
a  fourth  at  the  Fleece,  in  Burleigh-street,  near  Exeter 
Change;  a  fifth  at  the  Hand  and  Tench,  near  the 
Seven  Dials ;  several  in  Spittlefields,  by  the  French  re- 
fugees ;  one  in  Southwark  Park ;  and  another  in  the 
Artillery-ground."  Another  noted  Mug-house  was  the 
Magpie,  without  Newgate,  which  house  still  exists  as  the 
Magpie  and  Stump,  in  the  Old  Bailey.  At  all  these 
houses  it  was  customary  in  the  forenoon  to  exhibit  the 
whole  of  the  mugs  belonging  to  the  establishment,  in  a 
row  in  front  of  the  house. 

The  frequenters  of  these  several  Mug-houses  formed 


48  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON. 

themselves  into  "  Mug-house  Clubs,"  known  severally 
by  some  distinctive  name,  and  each  club  had  its  Presi- 
dent to  rule  its  meetings  and  keep  order.  The  President 
was  treated  with  great  ceremony  and  respect :  he  was 
conducted  to  his  chair  every  evening  at  about  seven 
o'clock,  by  members  carrying  candles  before  and  behind 
him,  and  accompanied  with  music.  Having  taken  a 
seat,  he  appointed  a  Vice-president,  and  drank  the  health 
of  the  company  assembled,  a  compliment  which  the 
company  returned.  The  evening  was  then  passed  in 
drinking  successively  loyal  and  other  healths,  and  in 
singing  songs.  Soon  after  ten  they  broke  up,  the  Presi- 
dent naming  his  successor  for  the  next  evening ;  and 
before  he  left  the  chair,  a  collection  was  made  for  the 
musicians. 

We  shall  now  see  how  these  Clubs  took  so  active  a 
part  in  the  violent  political  struggles  of  the  time.  The 
Jacobites  had  laboured  with  much  zeal  to  secure  the 
alliance  of  the  street  mob,  and  they  had  used  it  with 
great  effect,  in  connexion  with  Dr.  Sacheverell,  in  over- 
turning Queen  Anne's  Whig  Government,  and  paving 
the  way  for  the  return  of  the  exiled  family.  Disap- 
pointment at  the  accession  of  George  I.  rendered  the 
party  of  the  Pretender  more  unscrupulous ;  the  mob  was 
excited  to  greater  excesses,  and  the  streets  of  the  metro- 
polis were  occupied  by  an  infuriated  rabble,  and  pre- 
sented a  nightly  scene  of  riot.  It  was  under  these 
circumstances  that  the  Mug-house  Clubs  volunteered, 
in  a  very  disorderly  manner,  to  be  champions  of  order; 
and  with  this  purpose  it  became  part  of  their  evening's 
entertainment  to  march  into  the  street,  and  fight  the 
Jacobite  mob.  This  practice  commenced  in  the  autumn 
of  1715,  when  the  Club  called  the  Loyal  Society,  which 


MUG-HOUSE   CLUBS.  40 

met  at  the  Roebuck  in  Cheapside,  distinguished  itself 
by  its  hostility  to  Jacobitism.  On  one  occasion  this 
Club  burned  the  Pretender  in  effigy.  Their  first  conflict 
with  the  mob,  recorded  in  the  newspapers,  occurred  on 
the  31st  of  January,  1715,  the  birthday  of  the  Prince  of 
Wales,  which  was  celebrated  by  illuminations  and  bon- 
fires. There  were  a  few  Jacobite  alehouses,  chiefly  on 
Holborn  Hill,  in  SacheverelFs  period  ;  and  on  Ludgate- 
hill :  the  frequenters  of  the  latter  stirred  up  the  mob  to 
raise  a  riot  there,  put  out  the  bonfire,  and  break  the 
windows  which  were  illuminated.  The  Loyal  Society 
men,  receiving  intelligence  of  what  was  going  on,  hurried 
to  the  spot,  and  thrashed  and  defeated  the  rioters. 

On  the  4th  of  November  in  the  same  year,  the 
birthday  of  King  William  III.,  the  Jacobite  mob  made 
a  large  bonfire  in  the  Old  Jewry,  to  burn  an  effigy  of 
the  King;  but  the  Mug-house  men  came  upon  them 
again,  gave  them  "  due  chastisement  with  oaken  plants," 
extinguished  their  bonfire,  and  carried  King  William  in 
triumph  to  the  Roebuck.  Next  day  was  the  comme- 
moration of  Gunpowder  Treason,  and  the  loyal  mob  had 
its  pageant.  A  long  procession  was  formed,  having  in 
front  a  figure  of  the  infant  Pretender,  accompanied  by 
two  men  bearing  each  a  warming-pan,  in  allusion  to  the 
story  about  his  birth ;  and  followed  by  effigies  in  gross 
caricature  of  the  Pope,  the  Pretender,  the  Duke  of 
Ormond,  Lord  Bolingbroke,  and  the  Earl  of  Marr,  with 
halters  round  their  necks;  and  all  of  them  were  to  be 
burned  in  a  large  bonfire  made  in  Cheapside.  The  pro- 
cession, starting  from  the  Roebuck,  went  through  New- 
gate-street, and  up  Holborn-hill,  where  they  compelled 
the  bells  of  St.  Andrew's  church,  of  which  Sacheverell 
was  rector,  to  ring ;  thence  through  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields 

VOL.   I.  E 


50  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LOXDOX. 

and  Covent  Garden  to  the  gate  of  St.  James's  Palace ; 
returning  by  way  of  Pall  Mall  and  the  Strand,  and 
through  St.  Paul's  Churchyard.  They  had  met  with  no 
interruption  on  their  way,  but  on  their  return  to  Cheap- 
side,  they  found  that,  during  their  absence,  that  quarter 
had  been  invaded  by  the  Jacobite  mob,  who  had  carried 
away  all  the  fuel  which  had  been  collected  for  the  bonfire. 
On  November  17,  in  the  same  year,  the  Loyal  Society 
met  at  the  Roebuck  to  celebrate  the  anniversary  of  the 
Accession  of  Queen  Elizabeth ;  and,  while  busy  with 
their  mugs,  they  received  information  that  the  Jacobites 
were  assembled,  in  great  force,  in  St.  MartinVle- Grand, 
and  were  preparing  to  burn  the  effigies  of  King  William 
and  King  George,  along  with  the  Duke  of  Marlborough. 
They  were  so  near,  in  fact,  that  their  party-shouts  of 
High  Church,  Ormond,  and  King  James,  must  have 
been  audible  at  the  Roebuck,  which  stood  opposite  Bow 
Church.  The  Jacobites  were  starting  on  their  proces- 
sion, when  they  were  overtaken  in  Newgate  Street,  by 
the  Mug-house  men  from  the  Roebuck,  and  a  desperate 
encounter  took  place,  in  which  the  Jacobites  were  de- 
feated, and  many  of  them  were  seriously  injured. 
Meanwhile  the  Roebuck  itself  had  been  the  scene  of 
a  much  more  serious  tumult.  During  the  absence  of 
the  great  mass  of  the  members  of  the  Club,  another 
body  of  Jacobites,  much  more  numerous  than  those  en- 
gaged in  Newgate  Street,  suddenly  assembled,  attacked 
the  Roebuck  Mug-house,  broke  its  windows,  and  those 
of  the  adjoining  houses,  and  with  terrible  threats,  at- 
tempted to  force  the  door.  One  of  the  few  members  of 
the  Loyal  Society  who  remained  at  home,  discharged  a 
gun  upon  those  of  the  assailants  who  were  attacking  the 
door,  and  killed   one  of  their  leaders.      This  and  the 


MUG-HOUSE   CLUBS.  5J 

approach  of  the  Lord  Mayor  and  city  officers,  caused 
the  mob  to  disperse ;  but  the  Roebuck  was  exposed  to 
attacks  during  several  following  nights,  after  which  the 
mobs  remained  tolerably  quiet  during  the  winter. 

Early  in  1716,  however,  these  riots  were  renewed  with 
greater  violence,  and  preparations  were  made  for  an 
active  campaign.  The  Mug-houses  were  re-fitted,  and 
re-opened  with  ceremonious  entertainments.  New 
songs  were  composed  to  stir  up  the  Clubs ;  and  collec- 
tions of  these  Mug-house  songs  were  printed.  The 
Jacobite  mob  was  heard  beating  with  its  well-known 
call,  marrow-bones  and  cleavers,  and  both  sides  were 
well  equipped  with  staves  of  oak,  their  usual  arms  for 
the  fray,  though  other  weapons  and  missiles  were  in 
common  use.  One  of  the  Mug-house  songs  thus  de- 
scribes the  way  in  which  these  street  fights  were  con- 
ducted : — 

"  Since  the  Tories  could  not  fight, 
And  their  master  took  his  flight, 

They  labour  to  keep  up  their  faction  ; 
With  a  bough  and  a  stick, 
And  a  stone  and  a  brick, 

They  equip  their  roaring  crew  for  action. 

"  Thus  in  battle  array, 
At  the  close  of  the  day, 

After  wisely  debating  their  plot, 
Upon  windows  and  stall 
They  courageously  fall, 

And  boast  a  great  victory  they've  got. 

"  But,  alas !  silly  boys  ! 
For  all  the  mighty  noise 

Of  their  '  High  Church  and  Ormond  for  ever !' 
A  brave  Whig,  with  one  hand, 
At  George's  command, 

Can  make  their  mightiest  hero  to  quiver." 

E    2 


52  CLUB    LIFE    OF    LONDON. 

On  March  8,  another  great  Whig  anniversary,  the 
day  of  the  death  of  William  TIT.,  commenced  the  more 
serious  Mug-house  riots  of  1716.  A  large  Jacobite 
mob  assembled  to  their  own  watch-cry,  and  marched 
along  Cheapside,  to  attack  the  Roebuck ;  but  they  were 
soon  driven  back  by  a  small  party  of  the  Royal  Society, 
who  then  marched  in  procession  through  Newgate  Street, 
to  the  Magpie  and  Stump,  and  then  by  the  Old  Bailey 
to  Ludgate  Hill.  When  about  to  return,  they  found 
the  Jacobite  mob  had  collected  in  great  force  in  their 
rear ;  and  a  fierce  engagement  took  place  in  Newgate 
Street,  when  the  Jacobites  were  again  worsted.  Then, 
on  the  evening  of  the  23rd  of  April,  the  anniversary  of 
the  birth  of  Queen  Anne,  there  were  great  battles  in 
Cheapside,  and  at  the  end  of  Giltspur  Street;  and  in 
the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  the  Roebuck  and  the 
Magpie.  Other  great  tumults  took  place  on  the  29th 
of  May,  Restoration  Day;  and  on  the  10th  of  June, 
the  Pretender's  birthday.  From  this  time  the  Roebuck 
is  rarely  mentioned. 

The  Whigs,  who  met  in  the  Mug-house,  kept  by 
Mr.  Read,  in  Salisbury  Court ,  Fleet  Street,  appear  to 
have  been  peculiarly  noisy  in  their  cups,  and  thus  ren- 
dered themselves  the  more  obnoxious  to  the  mob.  On 
one  occasion,  July  20,  their  violent  party-toasts,  which 
they  drank  in  the  parlour  with  open  windows,  collected 
a  large  crowd  of  persons,  who  became  at  last  so  in- 
censed by  some  tipsy  Whigs  inside,  that  they  com- 
menced a  furious  attack  upon  the  house,  and  threatened 
to  pull  it  down  and  make  a  bonfire  of  its  materials 
in  the  middle  of  Fleet  Street.  The  Whigs  immediately 
closed  their  windows  and  barricaded  the  doors,  having 
sent  a  messenger  by  a  back  door,  to  the  Mug-house — in 


MUG-HOUSE  CLUBS.  53 

Tavistock  Street,  Covent  Garden,  begging  that  the  per- 
sons there  assembled  would  come  to  the  rescue.  The 
call  was  immediately  responded  to;  the  Mug-house 
men  proceeded  in  a  body  down  the  Strand  and  Fleet 
Street,  armed  with  staves  and  bludgeons,  and  com- 
menced an  attack  on  the  mob,  who  still  threatened  the 
demolition  of  the  house  in  Salisbury  Court.  The  in- 
mates sallied  out,  armed  with  pokers  and  tongs,  and 
whatever  they  could  lay  their  hands  upon,  and  being 
joined  by  their  friends  from  Covent  Garden,  the  mob 
was  put  to  flight,  and  the  Mug-house  men  remained 
masters  of  the  field. 

The  popular  indignation  was  very  great  at  this  de- 
feat ;  and  for  two  days  crowds  collected  in  the  neigh  - 
bourhood,  and  vowed  they  would  have  revenge.  But 
the  knowledge  that  a  squadron  of  horse  was  drawn  up 
at  Whitehall,  ready  to  ride  into  the  City  on  the  first 
alarm,  kept  order.  On  the  third  day,  however,  the 
people  found  a  leader  in  the  person  of  one  Vaughan, 
formerly  a  Bridewell  boy,  who  instigated  the  mob  to 
take  revenge  for  their  late  defeat.  Thev  followed  him 
with  shouts  of  "  High  Church  and  Ormond  !  down  with 
the  Mug-house !"  and  Read,  the  landlord,  dreading  that 
they  would  either  burn  or  pull  down  his  house,  pre- 
pared to  defend  himself.  He  threw  up  a  window,  and  pre- 
sented a  loaded  blunderbuss,  and  vowed  he  would  dis- 
charge its  contents  in  the  body  of  the  first  man  who 
advanced  against  his  house.  This  threat  exasperated 
the  mob,  who  ran  against  the  door  with  furious  yells. 
Read  was  as  good  as  his  word, — he  fired,  and  the  unfor- 
tunate man  Vaughan  fell  dead  upon  the  spot.  The  people, 
now  frantic,  swore  to  hang  up  the  landlord  from  his 
own  sign-post.     They  forced  the  door,  pulled  down  the 


54  CLUB   LIFE    OF   LONDON. 

sign,  and  entered  the  house,  where  Read  would  assur- 
edly have  been  sacrificed  to  their  fury,  if  they  had  found 
him.  He,  however,  had  with  great  risk  escaped  by  a 
back-door.  Disappointed  at  this,  the  mob  broke  the 
furniture  to  pieces,  destroyed  everything  that  lay  in 
their  way,  and  left  only  the  bare  walls  of  the  house. 
They  now  threatened  to  burn  the  whole  street,  and 
were  about  to  set  fire  to  Head's  house,  when  the  Sheriffs, 
with  a  posse  of  constables,  arrived.  The  Riot  Act  was 
read,  but  disregarded  ;  and  the  Sheriffs  sent  to  White- 
hall for  a  detachment  of  the  military.  A  squadron  of 
horse  soon  arrived,  and  cleared  the  streets,  taking  five 
of  the  most  active  rioters  into  custody. 

Read,  the  landlord,  was  captured  on  the  following 
day,  and  tried  for  the  wilful  murder  of  Vaughan ;  he 
was,  however,  acquitted  of  the  capital  charge,  and  found 
guilty  of  manslaughter  only.  The  five  rioters  were  also 
brought  to  trial,  and  met  with  a  harder  fate.  They 
were  all  found  guilty  of  riot  and  rebellion,  and  sen- 
tenced to  death  at  Tyburn. 

This  example  damped  the  courage  of  the  rioters,  and 
alarmed  all  parties;  so  that  we  hear  no  more  of  the 
Mug-house  riots,  until  a  few  months  later,  a  pamphlet 
appeared  with  the  title,  Down  with  the  Mug ;  or  Rea- 
sons for  suppressing  the  Mug-houses,  by  an  author  who 

only  gave  the  initials  Sir  H M ,  but  who  seems 

to  have  so  much  of  what  was  thought  to  be  a  Jacobite 
spirit,  that  it  provoked  a  reply,  entitled  the  Mug  Vindi- 
cated. 

The  account  of  1722  states  that  many  an  encounter 
they  had,  and  many  were  the  riots,  till  at  last  the  Govern- 
ment was  obliged  by  an  Act  of  Parliament  to  put  an 
end  to  this  strife,  which  had  this  good  effect,  that  upon 


THE   KIT-KAT    CLUB.  55 

pulling  down  of  the  Mug-house  in  Salisbury  Court,  for 
which  some  boys  were  hanged  on  this  Act,  the  city  has 
not  been  troubled  with  them  since. 

There  is  some  doubt  as  to  the  first  use  of  the  term 
"  Mug-house."  In  a  scarce  Collection  of  One  Hundred 
and  Eighty  Loyal  Songs,  ail  written  since  1678,  Fourth 
Edition,  1694,  is  a  song  in  praise  of  the  "  Mug,"  which 
shows  that  Mug-houses  had  that  name  previous  to  the 
Mug-house  riots.  It  has  also  been  stated  that  the 
beer- mugs  were  originally  fashioned  into  a  grotesque 
resemblance  of  Lord  Shaftesbury's  face,  or  "  ugly  mug," 
as  it  was  called,  and  that  this  is  the  derivation  of  the 
word. 


THE    KIT-KAT   CLUB. 

This  famous  Club  was  a  threefold  celebrity — political, 
literary,  and  artistic.  It  was  the  great  Society  of  Whig 
leaders,  formed  about  the  year  1700,  temp.  William 
III.,  consisting  of  thirty- nine  noblemen  and  gentlemen 
zealously  attached  to  the  House  of  Hanover  ;  among 
whom  the  Dukes  of  Somerset,  Richmond,  Grafton, 
Devonshire,  and  Marlborough,  and  (after  the  accession 
of  George  I.)  the  Duke  of  Newcastle;  the  Earls  of 
Dorset,  Sunderland,  Manchester,  Wharton,  and  King- 
ston ;  Lords  Halifax  and  Somers ;  Sir  Robert  Walpole, 
Vanbrugh,  Congreve,  Granville,  Addison,  Garth,  Mayn- 
waring,  Stepney,  and  Walsh.  They  are  said  to  have  first 
met  at  an  obscure  house  in  Shire-lane,  by  Temple  Bar, 
at  the  house  of  a  noted  mutton-pieman,  one  Christopher 
Katt ;  from  whom  the  Club,  and  the  pies  that  formed  a 


5G  CLUB   LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

standing  dish  at  the  Club  suppers,  both  took  their  name 
of  Kit-Kat.  In  the  Spectator,  No.  9,  however,  they 
are  said  to  have  derived  their  title  not  from  the  maker 
of  the  pie,  but  from  the  pie  itself,  which  was  called  a 
Kit-Kat,  as  we  now  say  a  Sandwich  ;  thus,  in  a  prologue 
to  a  comedy  of  1 700  : 

"  A  Kit-Kat  is  a  supper  for  a  lord  ;  " 

but  Dr.  King,  in  his  Art  of  Cookery,  is  for  the  pieman  : 

"  Immortal  made,  as  Kit-Kat  by  bis  pies." 

The  origin  and  early  history  of  the  Kit-Kat  Club  is 
obscure.  Elkanah  Settle  addressed,  in  1699,  a  manu- 
script poem  "  To  the  most  renowned  the  President  and 
the  rest  of  the  Knights  of  the  most  noble  Order  of  the 
Toast,"  in  which  verses  is  asserted  the  dignity  of  the 
Society  ;  and  M  alone  supposes  the  Order  of  the  Toast 
to  have  been  identical  with  the  Kit-Kat  Club :  this  was 
in  1699.  The  toasting-glasses,  which  we  shall  presently 
mention,  may  have  something  to  do  with  this  presumed 
identity. 

Ned  Ward,  in  his  Secret  History  of  Clubs,  at  once 
connects  the  Kit-Kat  Club  with  Jacob  Tonson,  "  an 
amphibious  mortal,  chief  merchant  to  the  Muses."  Yet 
this  is  evidently  a  caricature.  The  maker  of  the  mutton- 
pies,  Ward  maintains  to  be  a  person  named  Christopher, 
who  lived  at  the  sign  of  the  Cat  and  Fiddle,  in  Gray's 
Inn-lane,  whence  he  removed  to  keep  a  pudding-pye 
shop,  near  the  Fountain  Tavern,  in  the  Strand.  Wrard 
commends  his  mutton-pies,  cheese-cakes,  and  custards, 
and  the  pieman's  interest  in  the  sons  of  Parnassus  ;  and 
his  inviting  "  a  new  set  of  Authors  to  a  collation  of  oven 
trumpery  at  his  friend's  house,  where  they  were  nobly 
entertained  with  as  curious  a  batch  of  pastry  delicacies  as 


THE    KIT-KAT   CLUB.  57 

ever  were  seen  at  the  winding-up  of  a  Lord  Mayor's  feast;" 
adding  that  "there  was  not  a  mathematical  figure  in 
all  Euclid's  Elements  but  what  was  presented  to  the  table 
in  baked  wares,  whose  cavities  were  filled  with  fine  eatable 
varieties  fit  for  the  gods  or  poets."  Mr.  Charles  Knight, 
in  the  Shilling  Magazine,  No.  2,  maintains  that  by  the 
above  is  meant,  that  Jacob  Tonson,  the  bookseller,  was 
the  pieman's  "  friend,"  and  that  to  the  customary  "whet" 
to  his  authors  he  added  the  pastry  entertainment.  Ward 
adds,  that  this  grew  into  a  weekly  meeting,  provided  his, 
the  bookseller's  friends  would  give  him  the  refusal  of 
their  juvenile  productions.  This  "  generous  proposal  was 
very  readily  agreed  to  by  the  whole  poetic  class,  and  the 
cook's  name  being  Christopher,  for  brevity  called  Kit, 
and  his  sign  being  the  Cat  and  Fiddle,  they  very  merrily 
derived  a  quaint  denomination  from  puss  and  her  master, 
and  from  thence  called  themselves  of  the  Kit-Cat  Club." 

A  writer  in  the  Book  of  Days,  however,  states,  that 
Christopher  Cat,  the  pastry-cook,  of  King- street,  West- 
minster, was  the  keeper  of  the  tavern,  where  the  Club 
met;  but  Shire-lane  was,  upon  more  direct  authority, 
the  pieman's  abode. 

We  agree  with  the  National  Review,  that  "  it  is  hard  to 
believe,  as  we  pick  our  way  along  the  narrow  and  filthy 
pathway  of  Shire- lane,  that  in  this  blind  alley  [?],  some 
hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  used  to  meet  many  of  the 
finest  gentlemen  and  choicest  wits  of  the  days  of  Queen 
Anne  and  the  first  George.  Inside  one  of  those  frowsy 
and  low-ceiled  rooms,  now  tenanted  by  abandoned  women 
or  devoted  to  the  sale  of  greengroceries  and  small  coal, 
— Halifax  has  conversed  and  Soraers  unbent,  Addison 
mellowed  over  a  bottle,  Congreve  flashed  his  wit,  Van- 
brugh  let  loose  his  easy  humour,  Garth  talked  and 
rhymed." 


58  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON. 

The  Club  was  literary  and  gallant  as  well  as  political. 
The  members  subscribed  400  guineas  for  the  encourage- 
ment of  good  comedies  in  1709.  The  Club  had  its  toast- 
ing-glasses,  inscribed  with  a  verse,  or  toast,  to  some 
reigning  beauty;  among  whom  were  the  four  shining 
daughters  of  the  Duke  of  Marlborough — Lady  Godol- 
phin,  Lady  Sunderland,  Lady  Bridge  water,  and  Lady 
Monthermer;  Swift's  friends,  Mrs.  Long  and  Mrs.  Bar- 
ton, the  latter  the  lovely  and  witty  niece  of  Sir  Isaac 
Newton ;  the  Duchess  of  Bolton,  Mrs.  Brudenell,  and 
Lady  Carlisle,  Mrs.  Di.  Kirk,  and  Lady  Wharton. 

Dr.  Arbutlmot,  in  the  following  epigram,  seems  to 
derive  the  name  of  the  Club  from  this  custom  of  toasting 
ladies  after  dinner,  rather  than  from  the  renowned  maker 
of  mutton-pies : — 

"  Whence  deathless  Kit-Kat  took  his  name, 

Few  critics  can  unriddle  : 
Some  say  from  pastrycook  it  came, 

And  some  from  Cat  and  Fiddle. 
From  no  trim  beaus  its  name  it  boasts, 

Grey  statesmen  or  green  wits, 
But  from  this  pell-mell  pack  of  toasts 

Of  old  Cats  and  young  Kits." 

Lord  Halifax  wrote  for  the  toasting-glasses  the  follow- 
ing verses  in  1703  : — 

The  Duchess  of  St.  Albans. 

The  line  of  Vere,  so  long  renown'd  in  arms, 
Concludes  with  lustre  in  St.  Albans'  charms. 
Her  conquering  eyes  have  made  their  race  complete  : 
They  rose  in  valour,  and  in  beauty  set. 

The  Duchess  of  Beaufort. 
Offspring  of  a  tuneful  sire, 
Blest  with  more  than  mortal  fire  ; 


THE   KIT-KAT   CLUB.  59 

Likeness  of  a  Mother's  face, 
Blest  with  more  than  mortal  grace  : 
You  with  double  charms  surprise, 
With  his  wit,  and  with  her  eyes. 

The  Lady  Mary  Churchill. 

Fairest  and  latest  of  the  beauteous  race, 

Blest  with  your  parent's  wit,  and  her  first  blooming  face  ; 

Born  with  our  liberties  in  William's  reign, 

Your  eyes  alone  that  liberty  restrain. 

The  Lady  Sunderland. 

All  Nature's  charms  in  Sunderland  appear, 
Bright  as  her  eyes,  and  as  her  reason  clear ; 
Yet  still  their  force  to  man  not  safely  known, 
Seems  undiscover'd  to  herself  alone. 

The  Mademoiselle  Sjoanheim. 

Admir'd  in  Germany,  ador'd  in  France, 
Your  charms  to  brighten  glory  here  advance  : 
The  stubborn  Britons  own  your  beauty's  claim, 
And  with  their  native  toasts  enrol  your  name. 

To  Mrs.  Barton. 

Beauty  and  wit  strove,  each  in  vain, 
To  vanquish  Bacchus  and  his  train ; 
But  Barton  with  successful  charms, 
From  both  their  quivers  drew  her  arms. 
The  roving  God  his  sway  resigns, 
And  awfully  submits  his  vines. 

In  Spence's  Anecdotes  (note)  is  the  following  addi- 
tional account  of  the  Club  :  "  You  have  heard  of  the.  Kit- 
Kat  Club,"  says  Pope  to  Spence.  "The  master  of  the 
house  where  the  club  met  was  Christopher  Katt ;  Tonson 
was  secretary.  The  day  Lord  Mohun  and  the  Earl  of 
Berkeley  were  entered  of  it,  Jacob  said  he  saw  they  were 


CO  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON. 

just  going  to  be  ruined.  When  Lord  Mohun  broke 
down  the  gilded  emblem  on  the  top  of  his  chair,  Jacob 
complained  to  his  friends,  and  said  a  man  who  would  do 
that,  would  cut  a  man's  throat.  So  that  he  had  the  good 
and  the  forms  of  the  society  much  at  heart.  The  paper 
was  all  in  Lord  Halifax's  handwriting  of  a  subscription 
of  four  hundred  guineas  for  the  encouragement  of  good 
comedies,  and  was  dated  1709,  soon  after  they  broke  up. 
Steele,  Addison,  Congreve,  Garth,  Vanbrugh,  Manwa- 
ring,  Stepney,  Walpole,  and  Pulteney,  were  of  it ;  so  was 
Lord  Dorset  and  the  present  Duke.  Manwaring,  whom 
we  hear  nothing  of  now,  was  the  ruling  man  in  all  con- 
versations ;  indeed,  what  he  wrote  had  very  little  merit 
in  it.  Lord  Stanhope  and  the  Earl  of  Essex  were  also 
members.  Jacob  has  his  own,  and  all  their  pictures,  by 
Sir  Godfrey  Kneller.  Each  member  gave  his,  and  he  is 
going  to  build  a  room  for  them  at  Barn  Elms." 

It  is  from  the  size  at  which  these  portraits  were  taken 
(a  three-quarter  length),  36  by  28  inches,  that  the  word 
Kit-Kat  came  to  be  applied  to  pictures.  Tonson  had 
the  room  built  at  Barn  Elms ;  but  the  apartment  not 
being  sufficiently  large  to  receive  half-length  pictures,  a 
shorter  canvas  was  adopted.  In  1817,  the  Club-room 
was  standing,  but  the  pictures  had  long  been  removed  ; 
soon  after,  the  room  was  united  to  a  barn,  to  form  a 
riding-house. 

In  summer  the  Club  met  at  the  Upper  Flask,  Hamp- 
stead  Heath,  then  a  gay  resort,  with  its  races,  ruffles, 
and  private  marriages. 

The  pictures  passed  to  Richard  Tonson,  the  descendant 
of  the  old  bookseller,  who  resided  at  Water-Oakley,  on  the 
banks  of  the  Thames :  he  added  a  room  to  his  villa,  and 
here  the  portraits  were  hung.     On  his  death  the  pictures 


THE   KIT-KAT    CLUB.  61 

were  bequeathed  to  Mr.  Baker,  of  Bayfordbury,  the  re- 
presentative of  the  Tonson  family  :  all  of  them  were  in- 
cluded in  the  Art  Treasures  Exhibition  at  Manchester 
and  some  in  the  International  Exhibition  of  1862. 

The  political  significance  of  the  Club  was  such  that 
Walpole  records  that  though  the  Club  was  generally 
mentioned  as  "  a  set  of  wits/'  they  were  in  reality  the 
patriots  that  saved  Britain.  According  to  Pope  and 
Tonson,  Garth,  Vanbrugh,  and  Congreve  were  the  three 
most  honest-hearted,  real  good  men  of  the  poetical 
members  of  the  Club.  • 

There  were  odd  scenes  and  incidents  occasionally  at 
the  club  meetings.  Sir  Samuel  Garth,  physician  to 
George  I.,  was  a  witty  member,  and  wrote  some  of  the 
inscriptions  for  the  toasting-glasses.  Coming  one  night 
to  the  club,  Garth  declared  he  must  soon  be  gone,  hav- 
ing many  patients  to  attend ;  but  some  good  wine  being 
produced,  he  forgot  them.  Sir  Richard  Steele  was  of 
the  party,  and  reminding  him  of  the  visits  he  had  to 
pay,  Garth  immediately  pulled  out  his  list,  which  num- 
bered fifteen,  and  said,  "  It's  no  great  matter  whether  I 
see  them  to-night,  or  not,  for  nine  of  them  have  such  bad 
constitutions  that  all  the  physicians  in  the  world  can't 
save  them ;  and  the  other  six  have  such  good  constitu- 
tions that  all  the  physicians  in  the  world  can't  kill 
them." 

Dr.  Hoadley,  Bishop  of  Bangor,  accompanied  Steele 
and  Addison  to  one  of  the  Whig  celebrations  by  the 
Club  of  King  William's  anniversary;  when  Steele  had 
the  double  duty  of  celebrating  the  day  and  drinking  his 
friend  Addison  up  to  conversation  pitch,  he  being  hardly 
warmed  by  that  time.  Steele  was  not  fit  for  it.  So, 
John  Sly,  the  hatter  of  facetious  memory,  being  in  the 


62  CLUB   LIFE  OF  LONDON. 

house,  took  it  into  his  head  to  come  into  the  company  on 
his  knees,  with  a  tankard  of  ale  in  his  hand,  to  drink 
off  to  the  immortal  memory,  and  to  return  in  the  same 
manner.  Steele,  sitting  next  Bishop  Hoadley,  whispered 
him,  u  Do  laugh  :  it  is  humanity  to  laugh."  By-and-by, 
Steele  being  too  much  in  the  same  condition  as  the  hat- 
ter, was  put  into  a  chair,  and  sent  home.  Nothing 
would  satisfy  him  but  being  carried  to  the  Bishop  of 
Bangor's,  late  as  it  was.  However,  the  chairmen  carried 
him  home,  and  got  him  upstairs,  when  his  great  com- 
plaisance would  wait  on  them  downstairs,  which  he  did, 
and  then  was  got  quietly  to  bed.  Next  morning  Steele 
sent  the  indulgent  bishop  this  couplet : 

"  Virtue  with  so  much  ease  on  Bangor  sits, 
All  faults  he  pardons,  though  he  none  commits." 

Mr.  Knight  successfully  defends  Tonson  from  Ward's 
satire,  and  nobly  stands  forth  for  the  bookseller  who 
identified  himself  with  Milton,  by  first  making  Paradise 
Lost  popular,  and  being  the  first  bookseller  who  threw 
open  Shakespeare  to  a  reading  public.  "  The  statesmen 
of  the  Kit-Kat  Club,"  he  adds, "  lived  in  social  union  with 
the  Whig  writers  who  were  devoted  to  the  charge  of  the 
poetry  that  opened  their  road  to  preferment ;  the  band 
of  orators  and  wits  were  naturally  hateful  to  the  Tory 
authors  that  Harley  and  Bolingbroke  were  nursing  into 
the  bitter  satirists  of  the  weekly  sheets.  Jacob  Tonson 
naturally  came  in  for  a  due  share  of  invective.  In  a 
poem  entitled  l  Factions  Displayed/  he  is  ironically  in- 
troduced as  "  the  Touchstone  of  all  modern  wit;"  and 
he  is  made  to  vilify  the  great  ones  of  Barn  Elms : 

"  '  I  am  the  founder  of  your  loved  Kit-Kat, 
A  club  that  gave  direction  to  the  State : 


THE   TATLER  S  CLUB.  63 

'Twas  there  we  first  instructed  all  our  youth 

To  talk  profane,  and  laugh  at  sacred  truth : 

We  taught  them  how  to  boast,  and  rhyme,  and  bite, 

To  sleep  away  the  day,  and  drink  away  the  night.' ' 

Tonson  deserved  better  of  posterity. 


THE  TATLER'S  CLUB 

IN   SHIRE-LANE. 

Shire-lane,  alias  Rogue-lane,  (which  fallethinto  Fleet- 
street  by  Temple  Bar,)  has  lost  its  old  name — it  is  now 
called  Lower  SerleVplace.  If  the  morals  of  Shire-lane 
have  mended  thereby,  we  must  not  repine.  > 

Here  lived  Sir  Charles  Sedley  ;  and  here  his  son,  the 
dramatic  poet,  was  born,  "  neere  the  Globe."  Here,  too, 
lived  Elias  Ashmole,  and  here  Antony  a  Wood  dined 
with  him  :  this  was  at  the  upper  end  of  the  lane=  Here, 
too,  was  the  Trumpet  tavern,  where  Isaac  Bickerstaff 
met  his  Club.  At  this  house  he  dated  a  great  number 
of  his  papers  ;  and  hence  he  led  down  the  lane,  into  Fleet- 
street,  the  deputation  of  "  Twaddlers  "  from  the  country, 
to  Dick's  Coffee-house,  which  we  never  enter  without 
remembering  the  glorious  humour  of  Addison  and  Steele, 
in  the  Tatler,  No.  86.  Sir  Harry  Quickset,  Sir  Giles 
Wheelbarrow,  and  other  persons  of  quality,  having 
reached  the  Tatler's  by  appointment,  and  it  being  settled 
that  they  should  "  adjourn  to  some  public-house,  and 
enter  upon  business,"  the  precedence  was  attended  with 
much  difficulty ;  when,  upon  a  false  alarm  of  "  fire,"  all 


Gt  CLUB  LIFE    OF   LONDON. 

ran  down  as  fast  as  they  could,  without  order  or  cere- 
mony, and  drew  up  in  the  street. 

The  Tatler  proceeds  :  "In  this  order  we  marched  down 
Sheer-lane,  at  the  upper  end  of  which  I  lodge.  When  we 
came  to  Temple  Bar,  Sir  Harry  and  Sir  Giles  got  over, 
but  a  run  of  coaches  kept  the  rest  of  us  on  this  side  of  the 
street ;  however,  we  all  at  last  landed,  and  drew  up  in  very 
good  order  before  Ben  Tooke's  shop,  who  favoured  our 
rallying  with  great  humanity  ;  from  whence  we  proceeded 
again,  until  we  came  to  Dick's  Coffee-house,  where  I 
designed  to  carry  them.  Here  we  were  at  our  old  diffi- 
culty, and  took  up  the  street  upon  the  same  ceremony. 
We  proceeded  through  the  entry,  and  were  so  neces- 
sarily kept  in  order  by  the  situation,  that  we  were  now 
got  into  the  coffee-house  itself,  where,  as  soon  as  we  had 
arrived,  we  repeated  our  civilities  to  each  other;  after 
which  we  marched  up  to  the  high  table,  which  has  an 
ascent  to  it  enclosed  in  the  middle  of  the  room.  The 
whole  house  was  alarmed  at  this  entry,  made  up  of  per- 
sons of  so  much  state  and  rusticity." 

The  Tatter's  Club  is  immortalized  in  his  No.  132. 
Its  members  are  smokers  and  old  story-tellers,  rather 
easy  than  shining  companions,  promoting  the  thoughts 
tranquilly  bedward,  and  not  the  less  comfortable  to  Mr. 
Bickerstaff  because  he  finds  himself  the  leading  wit 
among  them.  There  is  old  Sir  Jeffrey  Notch,  who  has 
had  misfortunes  in  the  world,  and  calls  every  thriving 
man  a  pitiful  upstart,  by  no  means  to  the  general  dis- 
satisfaction ;  there  is  Major  Matchlock,  who  served  in 
the  last  Civil  Wars,  and  every  night  tells  them  of  his 
having  been  knocked  off  his  horse  at  the  rising  of  the 
London  apprentices,  for  which  he  is  in  great  esteem ; 
there  is  honest  Dick  Reptile,  who  says  little  himself,  but 


THE  ROYAL    SOCIETY  CLUB.  65 

who  laughs  at  all  the  jokes ;  and  there  is  the  elderly 
bencher  of  the  Temple,  and,  next  to  Mr.  BickerstafF,  the 
wit  of  the  company,  who  has  by  heart  the  couplets  of 
Hudibras,  which  he  regularly  applies  before  leaving  the 
Club  of  an  evening ;  and  who,  if  any  modern  wit  or  town 
frolic  be  mentioned,  shakes  his  head  at  the  dulness  of 
the  present  age,  and  tells  a  story  of  Jack  Ogle.  As  for 
Mr.  BickerstafF  himself,  he  is  esteemed  among  them 
because  they  see  he  is  something  respected  by  others ; 
but  though  they  concede  to  him  a  great  deal  of  learn- 
ing, they  credit  him  with  small  knowledge  of  the  world, 
"  insomuch  that  the  Major  sometimes,  in  the  height  of 
his  military  pride,  calls  me  philosopher  ;  and  Sir  Jeffrey, 
no  longer  ago  than  last  night,  upon  a  dispute  what  day 
of  the  month  it  was  then  in  Holland,  pulled  his  pipe  out 
of  his  mouth,  and  cried,  '  What  does  the  scholar  say  to 
that?'" 

Upon  Addison's  return  to  England,  he  found  his 
friend  Steele  established  among  the  wits ;  and  they  were 
both  received  with  great  honour  at  the  Trumpet,  as  well 
as  at  Will's,  and  the  St.  James's. 

The  Trumpet  public-house  lasted  to  our  time ;  it  was 
changed  to  the  Duke  of  York  sign,  but  has  long  disap- 
peared :  we  remember  an  old  drawing  of  the  Trumpet, 
by  Sam.  Ireland,  engraved  in  the  Monthly  Magazine. 


THE  ROYAL  SOCIETY  CLUB. 

In  Sir  R.  Kaye's  Collection,  in  the  British  Museum, 
we  find  the  following  account  of  the  institution  of  a 

VOL.  I.  7 


CO  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON. 

Society,  which  at  one  time  numbered  among  its  mem- 
bers some  of  the  most  eminent  men  in  London,  in  a 
communication  to  the  Rev.  Sir  R.  Kaye  by  Sir  Joseph 
AylofFe,  an  original  member  : — "  Dr.  Halley  used  to 
come  on  a  Tuesday  from  Greenwich,  the  Royal  Obser- 
vatory, to  Child's  Coffeehouse,  where  literary  people 
met  for  conversation  :  and  he  dined  with  his  sister,  but 
sometimes  they  stayed  so  long  that  he  was  too  late  for 
dinner,  and  they  likewise,  at  their  own  home.  They 
then  agree  to  go  to  a  house  in  Dean's-court,  between  an 
alehouse  and  a  tavern,  now  a  stationer's  shop,  where 
there  was  a  great  draft  of  porter,  but  not  drank  in  the 
house.  It  was  kept  by  one  Reynell.  It  was  agreed 
that  one  of  the  company  should  go  to  Knight's  and  buy 
fish  in  Newgate-street,  having  first  informed  himself 
how  many  meant  to  stay  and  dine.  The  ordinary  and 
liquor  usually  came  to  half-a-crown,  and  the  dinner  only 
consisted  of  fish  and  pudding.  Dr.  Halley  never  eat 
anything  but  fish,  for  he  had  no  teeth.  The  number 
seldom  exceeded  five  or  six.  It  began  to  take  place 
about  1731 ;  soon  afterwards  Reynell  took  the  King's 
Arms,  in  St.  Paul's  Churchvard,  and  desired  Dr.  Hallev 
to  go  with  him  there.  He  and  others  consented,  and 
they  began  to  have  a  little  meat.  On  Dr.  Halley's 
death,  Martin  Foulkes  took  the  chair.  They  afterwards 
removed  to  the  Mitre  (Fleet-street) ,  for  the  convenience 
of  the  situation  with  respect  to  the  Royal  Society,  and 
as  it  was  near  Crane-court,  and  numbers  wished  to  be- 
come members.  It  was  necessary  to  give  it  a  form. 
The  number  was  fixed  at  forty  members ;  one  of  whom 
was  to  be  Treasurer  and  Secretary  of  the  Royal  Society." 
Out  of  these  meetings  is  said  to  have  grown  the 
Royal  Society  Club,  or,  as  it  was  styled  during  the  first 


THE   EOYAL   SOCIETY   CLUB.  07 

half  century  of  its  existence,  the  Club  of  Royal  Philoso- 
phers. "  It  was  established  for  the  convenience  of  cer- 
tain members  who  lived  in  various  parts,  that  they 
might  assemble  and  dine  together  on  the  days  when  the 
Society  held  its  evening  meetings;  and  from  its  almost 
free  admission  of  members  of  the  Council  detained  by 
business,  its  liberality  to  visitors,  and  its  hospitable  re- 
ception of  scientific  foreigners,  it  has  been  of  obvious 
utility  to  the  scientific  body  at  large."  (Rise  and  Pro- 
gress of  the  Club,  privately  printed.) 

The  foundation  of  the  Club  is  stated  to  have  been  in 
the  year  1743,  and  in  the  Minutes  of  this  date  are  the 
following  : — 

"  Rules  and  Orders  to  be  observed  by  the  Thursday's 
Club,  called  the  Royal  Philosophers. — A  Dinner  to  be 
ordered  every  Thursday  for  six,  at  one  shilling  and  six- 
pence a  head  for  eating.  As  many  more  as  come  to  pay 
one  shilling  and  sixpence  per  head  each.  If  fewer  than 
six  come,  the  deficiency  to  be  paid  out  of  the  fund  sub- 
scribed. Each  Subscriber  to  pay  down  six  shillings, 
viz.  for  four  dinners,  to  make  a  fund.  A  pint  of  wine 
to  be  paid  for  by  every  one  that  comes,  be  the  number 
what  it  will,  and  no  more,  unless  more  wine  is  brought 
in  than  that  amounts  to." 

In  addition  to  Sir  U.  Kaye's  testimony  to  the  exist- 
ence of  a  club  of  an  earlier  date  than  1743,  there  are  in 
the  Minutes  certain  references  to  "  antient  Members  of 
the  Club  j"  and  a  tradition  of  the  ill  omen  of  thirteen  per- 
sons dining  at  the  table  said  to  be  on  record  in  the  Club 
papers :  "  that  one  of  the  Royal  Philosophers  enter- 
ing the  Mitre  Tavern,  and  finding  twelve  others  about 
to  discuss  the  fare,  retreated,  and  dined  by  himself  in 
another  apartment,  in  order  to  avert  the  prognostic/' 

f  2 


68  CLUB  LIFE   OF  LOXDOX. 

Still,  no  such  statement  is  now  to  be  found  entered, 
and  if  ever  it  were  recorded,  it  must  have  been  anterior 
to  1 743  j  curiously  enough,  thirteen  is  a  very  usual 
number  at  these  dinners. 

The  original  Members  were  soon  increased  by  various 
Fellows  of  the  Society  j  and  at  first  the  club  did  not 
consist  exclusively  of  Royals;  but  this  arrangement, 
not  having  been  found  to  work  well,  the  membership 
was  confined  to  the  Fellows,  and  latterly  to  the  number 
of  forty.  Every  Member  was  allowed  to  introduce  one 
friend ;  but  the  President  of  the  Royal  Society  was  not 
limited  in  this  respect. 

We  must  now  say  a  few  words  as  to  the  several  places 
at  which  the  Club  has  dined.  The  Society  had  their 
Anniversary  Dinner  at  Pontack's  celebrated  French 
eating-house,  in  Abchurch-lane,  City,  until  1746.  Evelyn 
notes  :  "  30  Nov.  1694.  Much  importuned  to  take  the 
office  of  President  of  the  Royal  Society,  but  I  again  de- 
clined it.  Sir  Robert  Southwell  was  continued.  We 
all  dined  at  Pontac's,  as  usual."  Here,  in  1699,  Dr. 
Bentley  wrote  to  Evelyn,  asking  him  to  meet  Sir  Chris- 
topher Wren,  Sir  Robert  Southwell,  and  other  friends, 
at  dinner,  to  consider  the  propriety  of  purchasing  Bishop 
Stillingfleet's  library  for  the  Royal  Society. 

From  Pontack's,  which  was  found  to  be  inconveni- 
ently situated  for  the  majority  of  the  Fellows,  the  So- 
ciety removed  to  the  Devil  Tavern,  near  Temple  Bar. 

The  Minutes  record  that  the  Club  met  at  the  Mitre 
Tavern,  in  Fleet- street,  "  over  against  Fetter-lane,"  from 
the  date  of  their  institution ;  this  house  being  chosen 
from  its  being  handy  to  Crane-court,  where  the  Society 
then  met.  This,  be  it  remembered,  was  not  the  Mitre 
Tavern  now  standing  in  Mitre-court,  but  "  the  Mitre 


THE   ROYAL   SOCIETY   CLUB.  69 

Tavern,  in  Fleet-street,"  mentioned  by  Lilly,  in  his  Life, 
as  the  place  where  he  met  old  Will.  Poole,  the  astrologer, 
then  living  in  Ram -alley.  The  Mitre,  in  Fleet-street, 
Mr.  J.  H.  Burn,  in  his  excellent  Account  of  the  Beau- 
foy  Tokens,  states  to  have  been  originally  established  by 
a  William  Paget,  of  the  Mitre  in  Cheapside,  who  removed 
westward  after  his  house  had  been  destroyed  in  the 
Great  Fire  of  September,  1666.  The  house  in  Fleet- 
street  was  lastly  Saunders's  Auction-room,  No.  39,  and 
was  demolished  by  Messrs.  Hoare,  to  enlarge  the  site 
for  their  new  banking-house,  the  western  portion  of 
which  now  occupies  the  tavern  site.  The  now  Mitre 
Tavern,  in  Mitre  court,  formerly  Joe's,  is  but  a  recent 
assumption  of  name.* 

In  1780,  the  Club  removed  to  the  Crown  and  Anchor 
Tavern,  in  the  Strand,  where  they  continued  to  dine  for 
sixty-eight  years,  until  that  tavern  was  converted,  in 
1848,  into  a  Club-house.  Then  they  removed  to  the 
Freemasons'  Tavern,  in  Great  Queen  Street ;  but,  in 
1857,  on  the  removal  of  the  Royal  Society  to  Burling- 
ton House,  Piccadilly,  it  was  considered  advisable  to 
keep  the  Club  meetings  at  the  Thatched  House,  in  St. 
James's  Street,  where  they  continued  until  that  tavern 
was  taken  down. 

During  the  early  times,  the  docketings  of  the  Club 
accounts  show  that  the  brotherhood  retained  the  title  of 
Royal  Philosophers  to  the  year  1786,  when  it  seems 
they  were  only  designated  the  Royals ;  but  they  have 
now  settled  into  the  "  Royal  Society  Club."  The  elec- 
tions are  always  an  exciting  matter  of  interest,  and  the 
fate  of  candidates  is  occasionally  severe,  for  there  are  va- 

*  See  Walks  and  Talks  about  London,  p.  246.     The  Mitre  in 
Fleet-street  was  also  the  house  frequented  by  Dr.  Johnson. 


70  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON. 

rious  instances  of  rejections  on  two  successive  annual 
ballots,  and  some  have  been  black-balled  even  on  a  third 
venture  :  some  of  the  defeated  might  be  esteemed  for 
talent,  yet  were  considered  unclubbable. 

Some  of  the  entries  in  the  earliest  minute-book  are 
very  curious,  and  show  that  the  Philosophers  did  not 
restrict  themselves  to  "  the  fish  and  pudding  dinner." 
Here  is  the  bill  of  fare  for  sixteen  persons,  a  few  years 
after  the  Club  was  established  :  "  Turkey,  boiled,  and 
oysters;  Calves'  head,  hashed;  Chine  of  Mutton; 
Apple  pye;  2  dishes  of  herrings;  Tongue  and  udder; 
Leg  of  pork  and  pease  ;  Srloin  of  beef;  Plum  pudding  ; 
butter  and  cheese."  Black  puddings  are  stated  to  have 
figured  for  many  years  at  every  dinner  of  the  Club. 

The  presents  made  to  the  Club  were  very  numerous, 
and  called  for  special  regulations.  Thus,  under  the  date 
of  May  3,  1750,  it  is  recorded  :  "  Resolved,  nem.  con., 
That  any  nobleman  or  gentleman  complimenting  this 
company  annually  with  venison,  not  less  than  a  haunch, 
shall,  during  the  continuance  of  such  annuity,  be  deemed 
an  Honorary  Member,  and  admitted  as  often  as  he 
comes,  without  paying  the  fine,  which  those  Members 
do  who  are  elected  by  ballot."  At  another  Meeting, 
in  the  same  year,  a  resolution  was  passed,  "  That  any 
gentleman  complimenting  this  Society  annually  with  a 
Turtle  shall  be  considered  as  an  Honorary  Member;" 
and  that  the  Treasurer  do  pay  Keeper's  fees  and  carriage 
for  all  venison  sent  to  the  Society,  and  charge  it  in 
his  account.  Thus,  besides  gratuities  to  cooks,  there 
are  numerous  chronicled  entries  of  the  following  te- 
nour  : — "  Keeper's  fees  and  carriage  of  a  buck  from 
the  Hon.  P.  Yorke,  14s. ;  Fees,  etc.,  for  Venison  and 
Salmon,  £1.  15s;  Do.,  half  a  Buck  from  the  Earl  of 


THE   ROYAL   SOCIETY  CLUB,  71 

Hard  wick,  £1.  5s. ;  Fees  and  carriage  for  a  Buck  from 
H.  Read,  Esq.,  £\.  3s.  6d. ;  Fees  for  Venison  and  Game 
from  Mr.  Banks,  £1.  9s.  6d. ;  .  .  .  August  15,  1751. 
The  Society  being  this  day  entertained  with  halfe  a 
Bucke  by  the  Most  Honble  the  Marquis  of  Rockingham, 
it  was  agreed,  nem.  con.,  to  drink  his  health  in  claret. 
Sept.  5th,  1751. — The  Company  being  entertained  with 
a  whole  Bucke  (halfe  of  which  was  dressed  to-day)  by 
Henry  Read,  Esq.,  his  health  was  drunk  in  claret,  as 
usual ;  and  Mr.  Cole  (the  landlord)  was  desired  to  dis- 
pose of  the  halfe,  and  give  the  Company  Venisons  instead 
of  it  next  Thursday."  The  following  week  the  largess 
is  again  gravely  noticed  :  "  The  Company  being  this  day 
regaled  with  the  other  halfe  of  Mr.  Read's  buck  (which 
Mr.  Cole  had  preserved  sweet),  his  health  was  again 
drank  in  claret." 

Turtle  has  already  been  mentioned  among  the  pre- 
sents. In  1784,  the  circumnavigator  Lord  Anson  ho- 
noured the  Club  by  presenting  the  members  with  a 
magnificent  Turtle,  when  the  Club  drank  his  Lordship's 
and  other  turtle  donors'  healths  in  claret.  On  one  oc- 
casion, it  is  stated  that  the  usual  dining-room  could  not 
be  occupied  on  account  of  a  turtle  being  dressed  which 
weighed  400  lb. ;  and  another  minute  records  that  a 
turtle,  intended  to  be  presented  to  the  Club,  died  on  its 
way  home  from  the  West  Indies. 

James  Watt  has  left  the  following  record  of  one  of 
the  Philosophers'  turtle  feasts,  at  which  he  was  present : 
— "  When  I  was  in  London  in  1785, 1  was  received  very 
kindly  by  Mr.  Cavendish  and  Dr.  Blagden,  and  my  old 
friend  Smeaton,  who  has  recovered  his  health,  and  seems 
hearty.  I  dined  at  a  turtle  feast  with  them,  and  the  se- 
lect Club  of  the  Royal  Society;  and  never  was  turtle 


72  CLUB   LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

eaten  with  greater  sobriety  and  temperance,  or  more 
good  fellowship." 

The  gift  of  good  old  English  roast-beef  also  occurs 
among  the  presents,  as  in  the  subjoined  minute,  under 
the  date  of  June  27, 1751,  when  Martin  Folkes  presided  : 
"  William  Hanbury,  Esq.,  having  this  day  entertained 
the  company  with  a  chine  of  Beef  which  was  34  inches 
in  length,  and  weighed  upwards  of  140  pounds,  it  was 
agreed,  nem.  con.,  that  two  such  chines  were  equal  to 
half  a  Bucke  or  a  Turtle,  and  entitled  the  Donor  to  be 
an  Honorary  Member  of  this  Society." 

Then  we  have  another  record  of  Mr.  H anbury's  mu- 
nificence, as  well  his  conscientious  regard  for  minute- 
ness in  these  matters,  as  in  this  entry :  "  Mr.  Han- 
bury sent  this  day  another  mighty  chine  of  beef,  and, 
having  been  a  little  deficient  with  regard  to  annual  pay- 
ments of  chines  of  beef,  added  three  brace  of  very  large 
carp  by  way  of  interest."  Shortly  after,  we  find  Lord 
Morton  contributing  u  two  pigs  of  the  China  breed." 

In  addition  to  the  venison,  game,  and  other  viands, 
there  was  no  end  of  presents  of  fruits  for  dessert.  In 
1752,  Mr.  Cole  (the  landlord)  presented  the  company 
with  a  ripe  water-melon  from  Malaga.  In  1753,  there 
is  an  entry  showing  that  some  tusks,  a  rare  and  savoury 
fish,  were  sent  by  the  Earl  of  Morton ;  and  Egyptian 
Cos-lettuces  were  supplied  by  Philip  Miller,  who,  in  his 
Gardener's  Dictionary,  describes  this  as  the  best  and 
most  valuable  lettuce  known  ;  next  he  presented  "  four 
Cantaloupe  melons,  equal — if  not  superior — in  flavour 
to  pine-apples."  In  July,  1763,  it  is  chronicled  that 
Lord  Morton  sent  two  pine-apples,  cherries  of  two  sorts, 
melons,  gooseberries  of  two  sorts,  apricots,  and  currants 
of  two  sorts. 


THE  ROYAL  SOCIETY  CLUB.        73 

However,  this  practice  of  making  presents  got  to  be 
unpopular  with  the  Fellows  at  large,  who  conceived  it 
to  be  undignified  to  receive  such  gifts;  and,  in  1779, 
it  was  "  resolved  that  no  person  in  future  be  admitted 
into  the  Club  in  consequence  of  any  present  he  shall 
make  to  it."  This  singular  custom  had  been  in  force 
for  thirty  years.  The  latest  formal  thanks  for  "  a  very 
fine  haunch  of  venison"  were  voted  to  Lord  Darnlev 
on  the  17th  of  June,  1824. 

The  Club  Minutes  show  the  progressive  rise  in  the 
charges  for  dinner.  From  1743  to  1756  the  cost  was 
Is.  6d.  a  head.  In  the  latter  year  it  was  resolved  to  give 
3s.  per  head  for  dinner  and  wine,  the  commons  for  ab- 
sentees to  remain  at  Is.  6d.,  as  before.  In  1775,  the 
price  was  increased  to  4s.  a  head,  including  wine,  and 
2d.  to  the  waiter;  in  1801,  to  5s.  a  head,  exclusive  of 
wine,  the  increased  duties  upon  which  made  it  necessary 
for  the  members  to  contribute  an  annual  sum  for  the 
expense  of  wine,  over  and  above  the  charge  of  the 
tavern  bills. 

In  1775,  the  wine  was  ordered  to  be  laid  in  at  a  price 
not  exceeding  .£45  a  pipe,  or  Is.  6d.  a  bottle ;  to  have 
a  particular  seal  upon  the  cork,  and  to  be  charged  by  the 
landlord  at  2s.  6d.  a  bottle.  The  Club  always  dined  on 
the  Society's  meeting-day.  Wray,  writing  of  a  Club- 
meeting  in  1776,  says  that,  "after  a  capital  dinner  of 
venison,  which  was  absolutely  perfect,  we  went  to  an- 
other sumptuous  entertainment,  at  the  Society,  where 
five  electrical  eels,  all  alive,  from  Surinam,  were  exhi- 
bited ;  most  of  the  company  received  the  electrical  stroke ; 
and  then  we  were  treated  with  the  sight  of  a  sucking 
alligator,  very  lively." 

It  has  been  more  than  once  remarked  that  a  public 


74  CLUB   LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

dinner  of  a  large  party  of  philosophers  and  men  of 
science  and  letters  generally  turns  out  to  be  rather  a 
dull  affair;  perhaps,  through  the  embarras  of  talent  at 
table.  Not  so,  however,  the  private  social  Clubs,  the 
offshoots  of  Public  Societies,  like  the  Royal  Society 
Club,  and  others  we  could  mention.  The  Royals  do 
not  appear  to  have  been  at  all  indifferent  to  these  post- 
prandial wit-combats.  "  Here,  my  jokes  I  crack  with 
high-born  Peers/'  writes  a  Philosopher,  alluding  to  the 
Club  dinners;  and  Admiral  Smyth,  in  his  unpublished 
Rise  and  Progress,  tells  us,  that  to  this  day  "it  unites 
hilarity,  and  the  macrones  verborum  of  smart  repartee, 
with  strictures  on  science,  literature,  the  fine  arts — and, 
indeed,  every  branch  of  human  knowledge." 

The  administration  of  the  affairs  of  the  Club  was  mi- 
nutely attended  to:  when,  in  1776,  it  was  considered 
necessary  to  revise  "the  commons/'  a  committee  was 
appointed  for  the  purpose,  consisting  of  Messrs.  Aubert, 
Cuthburt,  Maskelyne,  Russell,  and  Solander,  who  de- 
cided that  "  should  the  number  of  the  company  exceed 
the  number  provided  for,  the  dinner  should  be  made  up 
with  the  beefstakes,  mutton-chops,  lamb-chops,  veal- 
cutlets,  or  pork-stakes,  instead  of  made  dishes,  or  any 
dearer  provisions."  And  "  that  twopence  per  head  be 
allowed  for  the  waiter  (which  seems  to  have  been  the  regu- 
lar gratuity  for  many  years).  Then,  the  General  Com- 
mittee had  to  report  that  the  landlord  was  to  charge  for 
gentlemen's  servants,  "  one  shilling  each  for  dinner  and 
a  pot  of  porter ;"  and  "  that  when  toasted  cheese  was 
called  for,  he  was  to  make  a  charge  for  it." 

In  1784,  the  celebrated  geologist,  Faujas  de  Saint- 
Fond  (Barthelemy,)  with  four  other  distinguished  fo- 
reigners, partook  of  the   hospitality   of    the    Club,  of 


THE  ROYAL  SOCIETY  CLUB.        75 

which,  in  1797,  M.  Faajas  published  an  account.  "  He 
mentions  the  short  prayer  or  grace  with  which  Dr. 
Maskelyne  blessed  the  company  and  the  food — the  solid 
meats  and  unseasoned  vegetables — the  quantities  of 
strong  beer  called  porter,  drank  out  of  cylindrical  pewter 
pots  d'un  seul  trait — the  cheese  to  provoke  the  thirst 
of  drinkers — the  hob-a-nobbing  of  healths — and  the 
detestable  coffee.  On  the  whole,  however,  this  honest 
Frenchman  seems  to  have  been  delighted  with  the  en- 
tertainment, or,  as  he  styles  it,  f  the  convivial  and  un- 
assuming banquet/"  and  M.  Faujas  had  to  pay  l seven 
livres  four  sols '  for  his  commons.  Among  the  lighter 
incidents  is  the  record  of  M.  Aubert  having  received  a 
present  from  the  King  of  Poland,  begged  to  have  an 
opportunity  of  drinking  His  Majesty's  health,  and  per- 
mission to  order  a  bottle  of  Hermitage,  which  being 
granted,  the  health  was  drank  by  the  company  present ; 
and  upon  one  of  the  Club-slips  of  1798,  after  a  dinner 
of  twenty-two,  is  written,  "•  Seven  shillings  found  under 
the  table." 

The  dinner-charges  appear  to  have  gradually  pro- 
gressed from  Is.  6d.  to  10s.  per  head.  In  1858-9  the 
Club-dinners  had  been  25,  and  the  number  of  dinners 
309,  so  that  the  mean  was  equal  to  12*36  for  each 
meeting,  the  visitors  amounting  to  49 ;  and  it  is  further 
computed,  that  the  average  wine  per  head  of  late,  waste 
included,  is  a  considerable  fraction  less  than  a  pint,  im- 
perial standard  measure,  in  the  year' s  consumption. 

Among  the  distinguished  guests  of  the  Club  are  many 
celebrities.  Here  the  chivalrous  Sir  Sidney  Smith  de- 
scribed the  atrocities  of  Djezza  Pasha;  and  here  that 
cheerful  baronet — Admiral  Sir  Isaac  Coffin — by  relating 
the  result  of  his  going  in  a  jolly-boat  to  attack  a  whale, 


76  CLUB   LIFE    OF   LONDON. 

and  in  narrating  the  advantages  specified  in  his  proposed 
patent  for  fattening  fowls,  kept "  the  table  in  a  roar."  At 
this  board,  also,  our  famous  circumnavigators  and  orien- 
tal voyagers  met  with  countenance  and  fellowship — as 
Cook,  Furneaux,  Clerke,  King,  Bounty  Bligh,  Vancou- 
ver, Guardian  Riou,  Flinders,  Broughton,  Lestock,  Wil- 
son, Huddart,  Bass,  Tuckey,  Horsburgh,  &c;  while  the 
Polar  explorers,  from  the  Hon.  Constantine  Phipps  in 
1773,  down  to  Sir  Leopold  M'Clintock,  in  1860,  were 
severally  and  individually  welcomed  as  guests.  But, 
besides  our  sterling  sea-worthies,  we  find  in  ranging 
through  the  documents  that  some  rather  outlandish  visi- 
tors were  introduced  through  their  means,  as  Chet  Quang 
and  Wanga  Tong,  Chinese;  Ejutak  and  Tuklivina, 
Esquimaux ;  Thayen-danega,  the  Mohawk  chief;  while 
Omai,  of  Ularetea,  the  celebrated  and  popular  savage,  of 
Cook's  Voyages,  was  so  frequently  invited,  that  he  is 
latterly  entered  on  the  Club  papers  simply  as  Mr.  Omai." 

The  redoubtable  Sir  John  Hill  dined  at  the  Club  in 
company  with  Lord  Baltimore  on  the  30th  of  June, 
1748.  Hill  was  consecutively  an  apothecary,  actor, 
playwright,  novelist,  botanist,  journalist,  and  physician  ; 
and  he  published  upon  trees  and  flowers,  Betty  Canning, 
gems,  naval  history,  religion,  cookery,  and  what  not. 
Having  made  an  attempt  to  enter  the  Royal  Society, 
and  finding  the  door  closed  against  him, — perhaps 
a  pert  vivacity  at  the  very  dinner  in  question  sealed 
the  rejection, — he  revenged  himself  by  publishing  an 
mpudent  quarto  volume,  vindictively  satirizing  the 
Society. 

Ned  Ward,  in  his  humorous  Account  of  the  Clubs 
of  London,  published  in  1709,  describes  "  the  Virtuoso's 
Club  as  first  established  by  some  of  the  principal  mem- 


THE  EOYAL  SOCIETY  CLUB.         77 

bers  of  the  Royal  Society,  and  held  every  Thursday,  at  a 
certain  Tavern  in  Cornhill,  where  the  Vintner  that  kept 
it  has,  according  to  his  merit,  made  a  fortunate  step 
from  his  Bar  to  his  Coach.  The  chief  design  of  the 
aforementioned  Club  was  to  propagate  new  whims,  ad- 
vance mechanical  exercises,  and  to  promote  useless  as 
well  as  useful  experiments."  There  is  humour  in  this, 
as  well  as  in  his  ridicule  of  the  Barometer  :  "  by  this  no- 
table invention,"  he  says,  "  our  gentlemen  and  ladies  of 
the  middle  quality  are  infallibly  told  when  it's  a  right 
season  to  put  on  their  best  clothes,  and  when  they  ought 
not  to  venture  an  intrigue  in  the  fields  without  their 
cloaks  and  umbrellas."  His  ridicule  of  turning  salt 
water  into  fresh,  finding  a  new  star,  assigning  reasons  for 
a  spot  in  the  moon,  and  a  "  wry  step  "  in  the  sun's  pro- 
gress, were  Ward's  points,  laughed  at  in  his  time,  but 
afterwards  established  as  facts.  There  have  been  greater 
mistakes  made  since  Ward's  time;  but  this  does  not 
cleanse  him  of  filth  and  foulness. 

Ward's  record  is  evidence  of  the  existence  of  the  Royal 
Society  Club,  in  1709,  before  the  date  of  the  Minutes. 
Dr.  Hutton,  too,  records  the  designation  of  Halley's  Club 
— undoubted  testimony;  about  1737,  he,  Halley,  though 
seized  with  paralysis,  once  a  week,  within  a  very  short 
time  of  his  death,  met  his  friends  in  town,  on  Thursdays, 
the  day  of  the  Royal  Society's  meeting,  at  "■  Dr.  Halley's 
Club."  Upon  this  evidence  Admiral  Smyth  establishes 
the  claim  that  the  Royal  Society  Club  was  actually  es- 
tablished by  a  zealous  philosopher,  "who  was  at  once 
proudly  eminent  as  an  astronomer,  a  mathematician,  a 
physiologist,  a  naturalist,  a  scholar,  an  antiquary,  a  poet, 
a  meteorologist,  a  geographer,  a  navigator,  a  nautical 
surveyor,  and  a  truly  social  member  of  the  community — 


7S  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON. 

in  a  word,  our  founder  was  the  illustrious  H  alley — the 
Admirable  Crichton  of  science." 

A  memorable  dirner-party  took  place  on  August  the 
11th,  1859,  when  among  the  visitors  was  Mr.  Thomas 
Maclear  (now  Sir  Thomas),  the  Astronomer-Royal  at 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  who  had  just  arrived  in  Eng- 
land from  the  southern  hemisphere,  after  an  absence  of 
a  quarter  of  a  century.  "  On  this  day,  were  present,  so 
to  speak,  the  representatives  of  the  three  great  applica- 
tions by  which  the  present  age  is  distinguished,  namely, 
of  Railways,  Mr.  Stephenson ;  of  the  Electric  Telegraph, 
Mr.  Wheatstone ;  and  of  the  Penny  Post,  Mr.  Rowland 
Hill — an  assemblage  never  again  to  occur."  [Admiral 
Smyth's  History  of  the  Club.) 

Among  the  anecdotes  which  float  about,  it  is  related 
that  the  eccentric  Hon.  Henry  Cavendish,  "the  Club- 
Crcesus,  attended  the  meetings  with  only  money  enough 
in  his  pocket  to  pay  for  his  dinner,  and  that  he  may  have 
declined  taking  tavern-soup,  may  have  picked  his  teeth 
with  a  fork,  may  invariably  have  hung  his  hat  on  the 
same  peg,  and  may  have  always  stuck  his  cane  in  his 
right  boot ;  but  more  apocryphal  is  the  anecdote  that  one 
evening  Cavendish  observed  a  very  pretty  girl  looking 
out  from  an  upper  window  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
street,  watching  the  philosophers  at  dinner.  She  attracted 
notice,  and  one  by  one  they  got  up  and  mustered  round 
the  window  to  admire  the  fair  one.  Cavendish,  who 
thought  they  were  looking  at  the  moon,  bustled  up  to 
them  in  his  odd  way,  and  when  he  saw  the  real  object 
of  their  study,  turned  away  with  intense  disgust,  and 
grunted  out  "  Pshaw ;"  the  amorous  conduct  of  his  bro- 
ther Philosophers  having  horrified  the  woman-hating 
Cavendish. 


THE   EOYAL   SOCIETY   CLUB.  79 

Another  assertion  is  that  he,  Cavendish,  left  a  thump- 
ing legacy  to  Lord  Bessborough,  in  gratitude  for  his 
Lordship's  piquant  conversation  at  the  Club;  but  no 
such  reason  can  be  found  in  the  Will  lodged  at  Doctors' 
Commons.  The  Testator  named  therein  three  of  his 
Club-mates,  namely,  Alexander  Dalrymple,  to  receive 
5000/.,  Dr.  Hunter  5000/.,  and  Sir  Charles  Blagden 
(coadjutor  in  the  Water  question),  15,000/.  After  cer- 
tain other  bequests,  the  will  proceeds, — "  The  remainder 
of  the  funds  (nearly  700,000/.)  to  be  divided,  one- sixth 
to  the  Earl  of  Bessborough,  while  the  cousin,  Lord 
George  Henry  Cavendish,  had  two-sixths, instead  of  one/' 
"  it  is  therefore,"  says  Admiral  Smyth;  "patent  that  the 
money  thus  passed  over  from  uncle  to  nephew,  was  a 
mere  consequence  of  relationship,  and  not  at  all  owing 
to  any  flowers  or  powers  of  conversation  at  the  Royal 
Society  Club." 

Admiral  Smyth,  to  whose  admirable  precis  of  the 
History  of  the  Club  we  have  to  make  acknowledgment, 
remarks  that  the  hospitality  of  the  Royal  Society  has 
been  "  of  material  utility  to  the  well-working  of  the 
whole  machine  which  wisdom  called  up,  at  a  time  when 
knowledge  was  quitting  scholastic  niceties  for  the  truths 
of  experimental  philosophy.  This  is  proved  by  the  num- 
ber of  men  of  note — both  in  ability  and  station  ■ — who 
have  there  congregated  previously  to  repairing  to  the 
evening  meeting  of  the  body  at  large ;  and  many  a  qua- 
lified person  who  went  thither  a  guest  has  returned  a  can- 
didate. Besides  inviting  our  own  princes,  dukes,  mar- 
quises, earls,  ministers  of  state,  and  nobles  of  all  grades 
to  the  table,  numerous  foreign  grandees,  prelates,  am- 
bassadors, and  persons  of  distinction — from  the  King  of 
Poland  and  Baron  Munchausen,  down  to  the  smart  little 


50  CLUB  LIFE  OF  LONDON. 

abbe  and  a  i  gentleman  unknown ' — are  found  upon 
the  Club  records.  Not  that  the  amenities  of  the  frater- 
nity were  confined  to  these  classes,  or  that,  in  the  Club- 
bian  sense,  they  form  the  most  important  order;  for 
bishops,  deans,  archdeacons,  and  clergymen  in  general — 
astronomers — mathematicians — sailors — soldiers — en°i- 
neers — medical  practitioners — poets — artists — travellers 
— musicians — opticians— men  of  repute  in  every  acquire- 
ment, were,  and  ever  will  be,  welcome  guests.  In  a  word, 
the  names  and  callings  of  the  visitors  offer  a  type  of  the 
philosophical  discordia  concors  ;  and  among  those  guests 
possessed  of  that  knowledge  without  which  genius  is 
almost  useless,  we  find  in  goodly  array  such  choice 
names  as  Benjamin  Franklin,  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds, 
Gibbon,  Costard,  Bryant,  Dalton,  Watt,  Bolton,  Ten- 
nant,  Wedgwood,  Abyssinian  Bruce,  Attwood,  Boswell, 
Brinkley,  Rigaucl,  Brydone,  Ivory,  Jenner,  John  Hunter, 
Brunei,  Lysons,  Wreston,  Cramer,  Kippis,  Westmacott, 
Corbould,  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence,  Turner,  De  La  Beche, 
et  hoc  genus  omne." 

The  President  of  the  Royal  Society  is  elected  Presi- 
dent of  the  Club.  There  were  always  more  candidates 
for  admission  than  vacancies,  a  circumstance  which  had 
some  influence  in  leading  to  the  formation  of  a  new  Club, 
in  1847,  composed  of  eminent  Fellows  of  the  Society.  The 
name  of  this  new  Association  is  "the  Philosophical  Club," 
and  its  object  is  "  to  promote,  as  much  as  possible,  the 
scientific  objects  of  the  Royal  Society,  to  facilitate  in- 
tercourse between  those  Fellows  who  are  actively  en- 
gaged in  cultivating  the  various  branches  of  Natural 
Science,  and  who  have  contributed  to  its  progress;  to 
increase  the  attendance  at  the  Evening  Meetings,  and  to 
encourage  the  contribution  and  the  discussion  of  papers/' 


THE    COCOA-TREE    CLUB.  81 

Nor  are  the  dinners  forgotten ;  the  price  of  each  not  to 
exceed  ten  shillings. 

The  statistical  portion  of  the  Annual  Statement  of 
1860,  shows  that  the  number  of  dinners  for  the  past 
year  amounted  to  25,  at  which  the  attendance  was  312 
persons,  62  of  whom  were  visitors,  the  average  being 
=  12*48  each  time :  and  the  Treasurer  called  attention 
to  the  fact  that  out  of  the  Club  funds  in  the  last  twelve- 
month, they  had  paid  not  less  than  £9.  6s.  for  soda  and 
seltzer  water;  £8.  2s.  6d.  for  cards  of  invitation  and 
postage;  and  £25  for  visitors,  that  is,  8s.  0|^.  per  head. 


THE   COCOA-TREE   CLUB. 

This  noted  Club  was  the  Tory  Chocolate-house  of 
Queen  Anne's  reign;  the  Whig  Coffee-house  was  the 
St.  James's,  lower  down,  in  the  same  street,  St.  James's. 
The  party  distinction  is  thus  defined  : — "  A  Whig  will  no 
more  go  to  the  Cocoa- tree  or  Ozinda's,  than  a  Tory  will 
be  seen  at  the  coffee-house  of  St.  James's." 

The  Cocoa-tree  Chocolate-house  was  converted  into 
a  Club,  probably  before  1746,  when  the  house  was 
the  head- quarters  of  the  Jacobite  party  in  Parliament. 
It  is  thus  referred  to  in  the  above  year  by  Horace  Wal- 
pole,  in  a  letter  to  George  Montagu: — "The  Duke  has 
given  Brigadier  Mordaunt  the  Pretender's  coach,  on 
condition  he  rode  up  to  London  in  it.  '  That  I  will, 
Sir,'  said  he ;  '  and  drive  till  it  stops  of  its  own  accord 
at  the  Cocoa-tree.' " 

Gibbon  was  a  member  of  this  Club,  and  has  left  this 

VOL.  I.  g 


S2  CLUB   LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

entry,  in  his  journal  of  1762: — "Nov.  24.  I  dined  at 
the  Cocoa  Tree  with  *  *  *,  who,  under  a  great  appear- 
ance of  oddity,  conceals  more  real  humour,  good  sense, 
and  even  knowledge,  than  half  those  who  laugh  at  him. 
We  went  thence  to  the  play  (The  Spanish  Friar) ;  and 
when  it  was  over,  retired  to  the  Cocoa-tree.  That  re- 
spectable body,  of  which  I  have  the  honour  of  being  a 
member,  affords  every  evening  a  sight  truly  English. 
Twenty  or  thirty,  perhaps,  of  the  first  men  in  the  king- 
dom in  point  of  fashion  and  fortune  supping  at  little 
tables  covered  with  a  napkin,  in  the  middle  of  a  coffee- 
room,  upon  a  bit  of  cold  meat,  or  a  sandwich,  and  drink- 
ing a  glass  of  punch.  At  present  we  are  full  of  King's 
counsellors  and  lords  of  the  bedchamber;  who,  having 
jumped  into  the  ministry,  make  a  very  singular  medley 
of  their  old  principles  and  language  with  their  modern 
ones."  At  this  time,  bribery  was  in  full  swing:  it  i3 
alleged  that  the  lowest  bribe  for  a  vote  upon  the  Peace 
of  Fontainebleau,  was  a  bank-note  of  £200;  and  that 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  afterwards  acknowledged 
£25,000  to  have  been  thus  expended  in  a  single  morn- 
ing. And  in  1765,  on  the  debate  in  the  Commons  on 
the  Regency  Bill,  we  read  in  the  Chatham  Corre- 
spondence :  "  The  Cocoa-tree  have  thus  capacitated  Her 
Royal  Highness  (the  Princess  of  Wales)  to  be  Regent  : 
it  is  well  they  have  not  given  us  a  King,  if  they  have 
not;  for  many  think,  Lord  Bute  is  King." 

Although  the  Cocoa-tree,  in  its  conversion  from  a 
Chocolate-house  to  a  Club,  may  have  bettered  its  reputa- 
tion in  some  respects,  high  play,  if  not  foul  play,  was 
known  there  twenty  years  later.  Walpole,  writing  to 
Mann,  Feb.  6,  1780,  says:  "Within  this  week  there 
has  been  a  cast  at  hazard  at  the  Cocoa-tree,  (in  St. 


ALMACKS    CLUB.  83 

James's  Street,)  the  difference  of  which  amounted  to 
one  hundred  and  fourscore  thousand  pounds.  Mr. 
O'Birne,  an  Irish  gamester,  had  won  one  hundred  thou- 
sand pounds  of  a  young  Mr.  Harvey  of  Chigwell,  just 
started  into  an  estate  by  his  elder  brother's  death. 
O'Birne  said,  "  You  can  never  pay  me."  "  I  can/'  said 
the  youth  :  "  my  estate  will  sell  for  the  debt."  "  No/' 
said  O. ;  "  I  will  win  ten  thousand — you  shall  throw  for 
the  odd  ninety."     They  did,  and  Harvey  won. 

The  Cocoa-tree  was  one  of  the  Clubs  to  which  Lord 
Byron  belonged. 


ALMACK'S   CLUB. 

Almack's,  the  original  Brookes's,  on  the  south  side  of 
the  Whig  Club-house,  was  established  in  Pall  Mall,  on 
the  site  of  the  British  Institution,  in  1764,  by  twenty- 
seven  noblemen  and  gentlemen,  including  the  Duke  of 
Roxburgh  e,  the  Duke  of  Portland,  the  Earl  of  Strathmore, 
Mr.  Crewe  (afterwards  Lord  Crewe),  and  Mr.  C.  J.  Fox. 

Mr.  Cunningham  was  permitted  to  inspect  the  origi- 
nal Rules  of  the  Club,  which  show  its  nature :  here  are 
a  few. 

"21.  No  gaming  in  the  eating-room,  except  tossing 
up  for  reckonings,  on  penalty  of  paying  the  whole  bill 
of  the  members  present. 

"22.  Dinner  shall  be  served  up  exactly  at  half-past 
four  o'clock,  and  the  bill  shall  be  brought  in  at  seven. 

"  26.  Almack  shall  sell  no  wines  in  bottles  that  the 
Club  approves  of,  out  of  the  house. 

6    2 


84  CLUB    LIFE    OF    LONDON. 

' '  30.  Any  member  of  this  Society  that  shall  become 
a  candidate  for  any  other  Club,  (old  White's  excepted,) 
shall  be  ipso  facto  excluded,  and  his  name  struck  out  of 
the  book. 

"40.  That  every  person  playing  at  the  new  guinea 
table  do  keep  fifty  guineas  before  him. 

"41.  That  every  person  playing  at  the  twenty  guinea 
table  do  not  keep  less  than  twenty  guineas  before  him." 

That  the  play  ran  high  may  be  inferred  from  a  note 
against  the  name  of  Mr.  Thynne,  in  the  Club-books : 
"Mr.  Thynne  having  won  only  12,000  guineas  during 
the  last  two  months,  retired  in  disgust,  March  21st, 
1772." 

Some  of  its  members  were  Maccaronis,  the  "curled 
darlings"  of  the  day :  they  were  so  called  from  their 
affectation  of  foreign  tastes  and  fashions,  and  were  cele- 
brated for  their  long  curls  and  eye-glasses.  Much  of 
the  deep  play  was  removed  here.  "The  gaming  at 
Almack's,"  writes  Walpole  to  Mann,  February  2,  1770, 
"  which  has  taken  the  pas  of  White's,  is  worthy  the  de- 
cline of  our  empire,  or  commonwealth,  which  you  please. 
The  young  men  of  the  age  lose  ten,  fifteen,  twenty 
thousand  pounds  in  an  evening  there.  Lord  Stavordale, 
not  one-and-twenty,  lost  £11,000  there  last  Tuesday, 
but  recovered  it  by  one  great  hand  at  hazard.  He 
swore  a  great  oath,  f  Now,  if  1  had  been  playing  deep, 
I  might  have  won  millions.'  His  cousin,  Charles  Fox, 
shines  equally  there,  and  in  the  House  of  Commons. 
He  was  twenty-one  yesterday  se'nnight,  and  is  already 
one  of  our  best  speakers.  Yesterday  he  was  made  a 
Lord  of  the  Admiralty."  Gibbon,  the  historian,  was 
also  a  member,  and  he  dates  several  letters  from  here. 
On  June  24,  1776,  he  writes  :  "  Town  grows  empty,  end 


ALMACK'S.  85 

this  house,  where  I  have  passed  many  agreeable  hours, 
is  the  only  place  which  still  invites  the  flower  of  the 
English  youth.  The  style  of  living,  though  somewhat 
expensive,  is  exceedingly  pleasant ;  and,  notwithstanding 
the  rage  of  play,  I  have  found  more  entertainment  and 
rational  society  than  in  any  other  club  to  which  I 
belong." 

The  play  was  certainly  high — only  for  rouleaus  of  £50 
each,  and  generally  there  was  £  10,000  in  specie  on  the 
table.  The  gamesters  began  by  pulling  off  their  em- 
broidered clothes,  and  put  on  frieze  greatcoats,  or  turned 
their  coats  inside  outwards  for  luck.  They  put  on  pieces 
of  leather  (such  as  are  worn  by  footmen  when  they  clean 
the  knives)  to  save  their  laced  ruffles;  and  to  guard 
their  eyes  from  the  light  and  to  prevent  tumbling  their 
hair,  wore  high-crowned  straw  hats  with  broad  brims, 
and  adorned  with  flowers  and  ribbons ;  masks  to  con- 
ceal their  emotions  when  they  played  at  quinz.  Each 
gamester  had  a  small  neat  stand  by  him,  to  hold  his 
tea;  or  a  wooden  bowl  with  an  edge  of  ormolu,  to  hold 
the  rouleaus. 

Almack's  was  subsequently  Goosetree's.  In  the  year 
1780,  Pitt  was  then  an  habitual  frequenter,  and  here  his 
personal  adherents  mustered  strongly.  The  members, 
we  are  told  in  the  Life  of  Wilberforce,  were  about  twenty- 
five  in  number,  and  included  Pratt  (afterwards  Lord 
Camden),  Lords  Euston,  Chatham,  Graham,  Duncannon, 
Althorp,  Apsley,  G.  Cavendish,  and  Lennox ;  Messrs. 
Eliot,  Sir  Andrew  St.  John,  Bridgeman  (afterwards  Lord 
Bradford),  Morris  Robinson  (afterwards  Lord  Rokeby), 
R.  Smith  (afterwards  Lord  Carrington),  W.  Grenville 
(afterwards  Lord  Grenville),  Pepper  Arden  (afterwards 
Lord  Alvanley,  Mr.  Edwards,  Mr.  Marsham,  Mr.  Pitt, 


SO  CLUB    LIFE    OF    LONDON. 

Mr.  Wilberforce,  Mr.  Bankes,  Mr.  Thomas  Steele,  Ge- 
neral Smith,  Mr.  Windham. 

In  the  gambling  at  Goosetree's,  Pitt  played  with 
characteristic  and  intense  eagerness.  When  Wilber- 
force  came  up  to  London  in  1780,  after  his  return  to 
Parliament,  his  great  success  coloured  his  entry  into 
public  life,  and  he  was  at  once  elected  a  member  of 
the  leading  clubs — Miles' s  and  Evans's,  Brookes' s  and 
Boodle's,  White's  and  Goosetree's.  The  latter  was  Wil- 
berforce's  usual  resort,  where  his  friendship  with  Pitt, 
whom  he  had  slightly  known  at  Cambridge,  greatly  in- 
creased: he  once  lost  i^lOO  at  the  faro-table,  and  on 
another  night  kept  the  bank,  by  which  he  won  j£600  ; 
but  he  soon  became  weaned  from  play. 


ALMACK'S   ASSEMBLY.ROOMS. 

In  the  year  following  the  opening  of  Al mack's  Club 
in  Pall  Mall,  Almack  had  built  for  him  by  Robert 
Mylne,  the  suite  of  Assembly  Ilooms,  in  King-street,  St. 
James's,  which  was  named  after  him,  "  Almaek's,"  and 
was  occasionally  called  "  Willis's  Ilooms,"  after  the  next 
proprietor.  Almack  likewise  kept  the  Thatched  House 
Tavern,  in  St.  James's-street, 

Almaek's  was  opened  Feb.  20,  1765,  and  was  adver- 
tised to  have  been  built  with  hot  bricks  and  boiling 
water:  the  ceilings  were  dripping  with  wet;  but  the 
Duke  of  Cumberland,  the  Hero  of  Culloden,  was  there. 
Gilly  Williams,  a  few  days  after  the  opening,  in  a  letter 
to  George  Selwyn,  writes  :   "  There  is  now  opened  at 


ALMACKS.  87 

Aimack's,  in  three  very  elegant  new-built  rooms,  a  ten-  . 
guinea  subscription,  for  which  you  have  a  ball  and 
supper  once  a  week,  for  twelve  weeks.  You  may 
imagine  by  the  sum  the  company  is  chosen ;  though, 
refined  as  it  is,  it  will  be  scarce  able  to  put  out  old  Soho 
(Mrs.  Cornelys)  out  of  countenance.  The  men's  tickets 
are  not  transferable,  so,  if  the  ladies  do  not  like  us,  they 
have  no  opportunity  of  changing  us,  but  must  see  the 
same  persons  for  ever."  ..."  Our  female  Aimack's 
flourishes  beyond  description.  Aimack's  Scotch  face, 
in  a  bag-wig,  waiting  at  supper,  would  divert  you,  as 
would  his  lady,  in  a  sack,  making  tea  and  curtseying  to 
the  duchesses." 

Five  years  later,  in  1770,  Walpole  writes  to  Montagu  : 
"  There  is  a  new  Institution  that  begins  to  make,  and 
if  it  proceeds,  will  make  a  considerable  noise.  It  is  a 
Club  of  both  sexes,  to  be  erected  at  Aimack's,  on  the 
model  of  that  of  the  men  of  White's.  Mrs.  Fitzroy, 
Lady  Pembroke,  Mrs.  Meynell,  Lady  Molyneux,  Miss 
Pelham,  and  Miss  Lloyd,  are  the  foundresses.  I  am 
ashamed  to  say  I  am  of  so  young  and  fashionable  so- 
ciety ;  but  as  they  are  people  I  live  with,  I  choose  to  be 
idle  rather  than  morose.  I  can  go  to  a  young  supper 
without  forgetting  how  much  sand  is  run  out  of  the 
hour-glass." 

Mrs.  Boscawen  tells  Mrs.  Delany  of  this  Club  of 
lords  and  ladies  who  first  met  at  a  tavern,  but  subse- 
quently, to  satisfy  Lady  Pembroke's  scruples,  in  a  room 
at  Aimack's.  "  The  ladies  nominate  and  choose  the 
gentlemen  and  vice  versa,  so  that  no  lady  can  exclude  a 
lady,  or  gentleman  a  gentleman."  Ladies  Rochford, 
Harrington,  and  Holderness  were  black-balled,  as  was 
the  Duchess  of  Bedford,  who  was  subsequently  admitted  ! 


88  CLUB    LIFE    OF    LONDON. 

Lord  March  and  Brook  Boothby  were  black-balled  by 
the  ladies,  to  their  great  astonishment.  There  was  a 
dinner,  then  supper  at  eleven,  and,  says  Mrs.  Boscawen, 
"  play  will  be  deep  and  constant,  probably."  The 
frenzy  for  play  was  then  at  its  height.  "  Nothing 
within  my  memory  comes  up  to  it!"  exclaims  Mrs. 
Delany,  who  attributes  it  to  the  prevailing  ' '  avarice  and 
extravagance."  Some  men  made  profit  out  of  it,  like 
Mr.  Thynne,  "  who  has  won  this  year  so  considerably 
that  he  has  paid  off  all  his  debts,  bought  a  house  and 
furnished  it,  disposed  of  his  horses,  hounds,  etc.,  and 
struck  his  name  out  of  all  expensive  subscriptions.  But 
what  a  horrid  reflection  it  must  be  to  an  honest  mind  to 
build  his  fortune  on  the  ruin  of  others  1" 

Almack's  large  ball-room  is  about  one  hundred  feet 
in  length,  by  forty  feet  in  width ;  it  is  chastely  decorated 
with  gilt  columns  and  pilasters,  classic  medallions, 
mirrors,  etc.,  and  is  lit  with  gas,  in  cut-glass  lustres. 
The  largest  number  of  persons  ever  present  in  this  room 
at  one  ball  was  1700. 

The  rooms  are  let  for  public  meetings,  dramatic  read- 
ings, concerts,  balls,  and  occasionally  for  dinners.  Here 
Mrs.  Billington,  Mr.  Braham,  and  Signor  Naldi,  gave 
concerts,  from  1808  to  1810,  in  rivalry  with  Madame 
Catalani,  at  Hanover-square  Rooms;  and  here  Mr. 
Charles  Kemble  gave,  in  1844,  his  Readings  from 
Shakspeare. 

The  Balls  at  Almack's  are  managed  by  a  Committee 
of  Ladies  of  high  rank,  and  the  only  mode  of  admission 
is  by  vouchers  or  personal  introduction. 

Almack's  has  declined  of  late  years;  " a  clear  proof 
that  the  palmy  days  of  exclusiveness  are  gone  by  in 
England ;  and  though  it  is  obviously  impossible  to  pre- 


BKOOKES'S    CLUB.  89 

vent  any  given  number  of  persons  from  congregating 
and  re-establishing  an  oligarchy,  we  are  quite  sure  that 
the  attempt  would  be  ineffectual,  and  that  the  sense  of 
their  importance  would  extend  little  bej^ond  the  set.""* 
In  1831  was  published  Almack's,  a  novel,  in  which  the 
the  leaders  of  fashion  were  sketched  with  much  free- 
dom, and  identified  in  A  Key  to  Almack's,  by  Benjamin 
Disraeli. 


BROOKES'S   CLUB. 

We  have  just  narrated  the  establishment  of  this  Club 
— how  it  was  originally  a  gaming  club,  and  was  farmed 
at  first  by  Almack.  It  was  subsequently  taken  by 
Brookes,  a  wine-merchant  and  money-lender,  according 
to  Selwyn ;  and  who  is  described  by  Tickell,  in  a  copy 
of  verses  addressed  to  Sheridan,  when  Charles  James 
Fox  was  to  give  a  supper  at  his  own  lodgings,  then  near 
the  Club  :— 

"  Derby  shall  send,  if  not  his  plate,  his  cooks, 
And  know,  I  Ve  brought  the  best  champagne  from  Brookes, 
From  liberal  Brookes,  whose  speculative  skill 
Is  hasty  credit,  and  a  distant  bill ; 
Who,  nursed  in  clubs,  disdains  a  vulgar  trade, 
Exults  to  trust,  and  blushes  to  be  paid." 

From  Pall  Mall  Brookes's  Club  removed  to  No.  60, 
on  the  west  side  of  St.  James's-street,  where  a  handsome 
house  was  built  at  Brookes' s  expense,  from  the  designs  of 
Henry  Holland,  the  architect ;  it  was  opened  in  October, 

*  Quarterly  Review,  1840. 


90  CLUB    LIFE    OF    LONDON. 

1778.  The  concern  did  not  prosper;  for  James  Hare 
writes  to  George  Selwyn,  May  18,  1779,  ((  we  are  all 
beggars  at  Brookes's,  and  he  threatens  to  leave  the 
house,  as  it  yields  him  no  profit."  Mr.  Cunningham 
tells  us  that  Brookes  retired  from  the  Club  soon  after  it 
was  built,  and  died  poor  about  the  year  1782. 

Lord  Crewe,  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Club  in  Pall 
Mall,  died  in  1829,  after  sixty-five  years'  membership  of 
Brookes's.  Among  its  celebrities  were  Burke  and  Sir 
Joshua  .Reynolds,  Garrick  and  Hume,  Horace  Walpole, 
Gibbon,  and  Sheridan  and  Wilberforce.  Lord  March, 
afterwards  Duke  of  Queensberry,  was  one  of  its  noto- 
rieties— "the  old  Q.,  whom  many  now  living  can  re- 
member, with  his  fixed  eye  and  cadaverous  face,  watch- 
ing the  flow  of  the  human  tide  past  his  bow-window  in 
Pall  Mall." — National  Review,  1857.  [This  is  hardly 
correct  as  to  locality,  since  the  Club  left  Pall  Mall  in 
1778,  and  a  reminiscent  must  be  more  than  80  years 
of  age.]  Among  Selwyn's  correspondents  are  Gilly 
Williams,  Hare,  Fitzpatrick,  the  Townshends,  Burgoyne, 
Storer,  and  Lord  Carlisle.  R.  Tickell,  in  "  Lines  from 
the  Hon.  Charles  Fox  to  the  Hon.  John  Townshend 
cruising,"  thus  describes  the  welcome  that  awaits 
Townshend,  and  the  gay  life  of  the  Club  : — 

"  Soon  as  to  Brookes's  thence  thy  footsteps  bend, 
What  gratulations  thy  approach  attend  ! 
See  Gibbon  tap  his  box  ;  auspicious  sign, 
That  classic  compliment  and  evil  combine. 
See  Beauclerk's  cheek  a  tinge  of  red  surprise, 
And  friendship  gives  what  cruel  health  denies. 
Important  Townshend !  what  can  thee  withstand  ? 
The  ling'ring  black-ball  lags  in  Boothby's  hand. 
E'en  Draper  checks  the  sentimental  sigh ; 
And  Smith,  without  an  oath,  suspends  the  die." 


BROOKES  S    CLUB.  91 

Mr.  Wilberforce  has  thus  recorded  his  first  appear- 
ance at  Brookes's  :  "  Hardly  knowing  any  one,  I  joined, 
from  mere  shyness,  in  play  at  the  faro-tables,  where 
George  Selwyn  kept  bank.  A  friend,  who  knew  my 
inexperience,  and  regarded  me  as  a  victim  decked  out 
for  sacrifice,  called  to  me,  c  What,  Wilberforce,  is  that 
you?'  Selwyn  quite  resented  the  interference,  and, 
turning  to  him,  said,  in  his  most  expressive  tone,  ( Oh, 
Sir,  don't  interrupt  Mr.  Wilberforce;  he  could  not  be 
better  employed  V  " 

The  Prince  of  Wales,  one  day  at  Brookes's,  expatiating 
on  that  beautiful  but  far-fetched  idea  of  Dr.  Darwin's, 
that  the  reason  of  the  bosom  of  a  beautiful  woman  being 
the  object  of  such  exquisite  delight  for  a  man  to  look 
upon,  arises  from  the  first  pleasurable  sensations  of 
warmth,  sustenance,  and  repose,  which  he  derives  there- 
from in  his  infancy ;  Sheridan  replied,  "  Truly  hath  it 
been  said,  that  there  is  only  one  step  from  the  sublime 
to  the  ridiculous.  All  children  who  are  brought  up  by 
hand  must  derive  their  pleasurable  sensations  from  a 
very  different  source;  yet  I  believe  no  one  ever  heard  of 
any  such,  when  arrived  at  manhood,  evincing  any  very 
rapturous  or  amatory  emotions  at  the  sight  of  a  wooden 
spoon."  This  clever  exposure  of  an  ingenious  absurdity 
shows  the  folly  of  taking  for  granted  every  opinion  which 
may  be  broached  under  the  sanction  of  a  popular  name. 

The  conversation  at  Brookes's,  one  day,  turning  on 
Lord  Henry  Petty's  projected  tax  upon  iron,  one  mem- 
ber said,  that  as  there  was  so  much  opposition  to  it,  it 
would  be  better  to  raise  the  proposed  sum  upon  coals. 
"  Hold !  my  dear  fellow,"  said  Sheridan,  "  that  would 
be  out  of  the  frying  pan  into  the  fire,  with  a  vengeance." 

Mr.  Whitbread,    one   evening   at   Brookes's,   talked 


92  CLUB  LIFE  OF  LONDON. 

loudly  and  largely  against  the  Ministers  for  laying  what 
was  called  the  war  tax  upon  malt :  every  one  present 
concurred  with  him  in  opinion,  but  Sheridan  could  not 
resist  the  gratification  of  a  hit  at  the  brewer  himself. 
He  wrote  with  his  pencil  upon  the  back  of  a  letter  the 
following  lines,  which  he  handed  to  Mr.  Whitbread, 
across  the  table : — 

"  They've  raised  the  price  of  table  drink  ; 
What  is  the  reason,  do  you  think  ? 
The  tax  on  malt  's  the  cause  I  hear — 
But  what  has  malt  to  do  with  beer  ?" 

Looking  through  a  Number  of  the  Quarterly  Beview, 
one  day,  at  Brookes' s,  soon  after  its  first  appearance, 
Sheridan  said,  in  reply  to  a  gentleman  who  observed 
that  the  editor,  Mr.  Gifford,  had  boasted  of  the  power  of 
conferring  and  distributing  literary  reputation ;  "  Very 
likely ;  and  in  the  present  instance  I  think  he  has  done 
it  so  profusely  as  to  have  left  none  for  himself." 

Sir  Philip  Francis  was  the  convivial  companion  of 
Fox,  and  during  the  short  administration  of  that  states- 
man was  made  a  Knight  of  the  Bath.  One  evening, 
Roger  Wilbraham  came  up  to  a  whist-table  at  Brookes's, 
where  Sir  Philip,  who  for  the  first  time  wore  the  ribbon 
of  the  Order,  was  engaged  in  a  rubber,  and  thus  ac- 
costed him.  Laying  hold  of  the  ribbon  and  examining 
it  for  some  time,  he  said :  "  So,  this  is  the  way  they 
have  rewarded  you  at  last :  they  have  given  you  a  little 
bit  of  red  ribbon  for  your  services,  Sir  Philip,  have 
they?  A  pretty  bit  of  red  ribbon  to  hang  about  your 
neck ;  and  that  satisfies  you,  does  it  ?  Now,  I  wonder 
what  I  shall  have. — What  do  you  think  they  will  give 
me,  Sir  Philip  ?" 


BROOKES  S    CLUB.  93 

The  newly-made  Knight,  who  had  twenty-five  guineas 
depending  on  the  rubber,  and  who  was  not  very  well 
pleased  at  the  interruption,  suddenly  turned  round,  and 
looking  at  him  fiercely,  exclaimed,  "  A  halter,  and  be  d — d 
to  you  \" 

George  III.  invariably  evinced  a  strong  aversion  to 
Fox,  the  secret  of  which  it  is  easy  to  understand.  His 
son,  the  Prince  of  Wales,  threw  himself  into  the  arms  of 
Fox,  and  this  in  the  most  undisguised  manner.  Fox 
lodged  in  St.  James's- street,  and  as  soon  as  he  rose, 
which  was  very  late,  had  a  levee  of  his  followers,  and  of 
the  members  of  the  gaming  club,  at  Brookes' s,  all  his  dis- 
ciples. His  bristly  black  person,  and  shagged  breast  quite 
open,  and  rarely  purified  by  any  ablutions,  was  wrapped 
in  a  foul  linen  night -gown,  and  his  bushy  hair  dishevelled. 
In  these  cynic  weeds,  and  with  epicurean  good-humour, 
did  he  dictate  his  politics,  and  in  this  school  did  the 
heir  of  the  Crown  attend  his  lessons,  and  imbibe  them. 

Fox's  love  of  play  was  desperate.  A  few  evenings 
before  he  moved  the  repeal  of  the  Marriage  Act,  in 
February,  1772,  he  had  been  at  Brompton  on  two 
errands :  one  to  consult  Justice  Fielding  on  the  penal 
laws ;  the  other  to  borrow  ten  thousand  pounds,  which 
he  brought  to  town  at  the  hazard  of  being  robbed.  Fox 
played  admirably  both  at  whist  and  piquet ;  with  such 
skill,  indeed,  that  by  the  general  admission  of  Brookes' s 
Club,  he  might  have  made  four  thousand  pounds  a-year, 
as  they  calculated,  at  those  games,  if  he  could  have 
confined  himself  to  them.  But  his  misfortune  arose 
from  playing  games  at  chance,  particularly  at  Faro. 
After  eating  and  drinking  plentifully,  he  sat  down  to  the 
Faro  table,  and  inevitably  rose  a  loser.  Once,  indeed, 
and  once  only,  he  won  about  eight  thousand  pounds  in 


9  l  CLUB    LIFE  OF   LONDON. 

the  course  of  a  single  evening.  Part  of  the  money  he 
paid  away  to  his  creditors,  and  the  remainder  he  lost 
almost  immediately.  Before  he  attained  his  thirtieth 
year,  he  had  completely  dissipated  everything  that  he 
could  either  command,  or  could  procure  by  the  most 
ruinous  expedients.  He  had  even  undergone,  at  times, 
many  of  the  severest  privations  annexed  to  the  vicissi- 
tudes that  mark  a  gamester's  progress ;  frequently 
wanting  money  to  defray  the  common  daily  wants  of 
the  most  pressing  nature.  Topham  Beauclerc,  who  lived 
much  in  Fox's  society,  affirmed,  that  no  man  could  form 
an  idea  of  the  extremities  to  which  he  had  been  driven 
in  order  to  raise  money,  after  losing  his  last  guinea 
at  the  Faro  table.  He  was  reduced  for  successive  days 
to  such  distress,  as  to  borrow  money  from  the  waiters  of 
Brookes's.  The  very  chairmen,  whom  he  was  unable  to 
pay,  used  to  dun  him  for  their  arrears.  In  1781,  he 
might  be  considered  as  an  extinct  volcano,  for  the 
pecuniary  aliment  that  had  fed  the  flame  was  long  con- 
sumed. Yet  he  then  occupied  a  house  or  lodgings  in 
St.  JamesVstreet  close  to  Brookes' s,  where  he  passed 
almost  every  hour  which  was  not  devoted  to  the  House 
of  Commons.  Brookes' s  was  then  the  rallying  point  or 
rendezvous  of  the  Opposition;  where,  while  faro,  whist, 
and  supper  prolonged  the  night,  the  principal  members 
of  the  Minority  in  both  Houses  met,  in  order  to  compare 
their  information,  or  to  concert  and  mature  their  parlia- 
mentary measures.  Great  sums  were  then  borrowed  of 
Jews  at  exorbitant  premiums.  Fox  called  his  outward 
room,  where  the  Jews  waited  till  he  rose,  the  Jerusalem 
Chamber.  His  brother  Stephen  was  enormously  fat; 
George  Selwyn  said  he  was  in  the  right  to  deal  with 
Shylocks,  as  he  could  give  them  pounds  of  flesh. 


BROOKES'S    CLUB.  95 


When  Fox  lodged  with  his  friend  Fitzpatrick,  at 
Mackie's,  some  one  remarked  that  two  such  inmates 
would  be  the  ruin  of  Mackie,  the  oilman ;  "  No,"  said 
George  Selwyn ;  "  so  far  from  ruining  him,  they  will 
make  poor  Mackie' s  fortune ;  for  he  will  have  the  credit 
of  having  the  finest  pickles  in  London." 

The  ruling  passion  of  Fox  was  partly  owing  to  the  lax 
training  of  his  father,  who,  by  his  lavish  allowances, 
fostered  his  propensity  for  play.  According  to  Chester- 
field, the  first  Lord  Holland  "  had  no  fixed  principles  in 
religion  or  morality,"  and  he  censures  him  to  his  son  for 
being  "too  unwary  in  ridiculing  and  exposing  them." 
He  gave  full  swing  to  Charles  in  his  youth  :  "  let  nothing 
be  done,"  said  his  Lordship,  "to  break  his  spirit;  the 
world  will  do  that  for  him."  [Selwyn.)  At  his  death,  in 
1774,  he  left  him  £154,000  to  pay  his  debts ;  it  was  all 
bespoke,  and  Fox  soon  became  as  deeply  pledged  as 
before. 

Walpole,  in  1781,  walking  up  St.  James's-street,  saw 
a  cart  and  porters  at  Fox's  door ;  with  copper  and  an 
old  chest  of  drawers,  loading.  His  success  at  faro  had 
awakened  a  host  of  creditors ;  but,  unless  his  bank  had 
swelled  to  the  size  of  the  Bank  of  England,  it  could  not 
have  yielded  a  sou  apiece  for  each.  Epsom,  too,  had 
been  unpropitious  ;  and  one  creditor  had  actually  seized 
and  carried  off  Fox's  goods,  which  did  not  seem  worth 
removing.  Yet,  shortly  after  this,  whom  should  Walpole 
find  sauntering  by  his  own  door  but  Fox,  who  came  up 
and  talked  to  him  at  the  coach-window,  on  the  Marriage 
Bill,  with  as  much  sang  froid  as  if  he  knew  nothing  of 
what  had  happened. 

It  was  at  the  sale  of  Fox's  library  in  this  year  that 
Walpole    made  the  following  singular  note: — "1781, 


90  CLUB    LIFE   OF  LOXDOX. 

June  20.  Sold  by  auction,  the  library  of  Charles  Fox, 
which  had  been  taken  in  execution.  Amongst  the  books 
was  Mr.  Gibbon's  first  volume  of  '  Roman  History/ 
which  appeared,  by  the  title-page,  to  have  been  given  by 
the  author  to  Mr.  Fox,  who  had  written  in  it  the  follow- 
ing anecdote  : — ( The  author  at  Brookes's  said  there  was 
no  salvation  for  the  country  till  six  heads  of  the  princi- 
pal persons  in  the  administration  were  laid  on  the  table ; 
eleven  days  later,  the  same  gentleman  accepted  the  place 
of  Lord  of  Trade  under  those  very  ministers,  and  has 
acted  with  them  ever  since  ! '  Such  was  the  avidity  of 
bidders  for  the  smallest  production  of  so  wonderful  a 
genius,  that  by  the  addition  of  this  little  record,  the 
book  sold  for  three  guineas." 

Lord  Tankerville  assured  Mr.  Rogers  that  Fox  once 
played  cards  with  Fitzpatrick  at  Brookes's  from  ten 
o'clock  at  night  till  near  six  o* clock  the  next  afternoon, 
a  waiter  standing  by  to  tell  them  "  whose  deal  it  was," 
they  being  too  sleepy  to  know.  Fox  once  won  about 
eight  thousand  pounds ;  and  one  of  his  bond-creditors, 
who  soon  heard  of  his  good  luck,  presented  himself,  and 
asked  for  payment.  "  Impossible,  Sir,"  replied  Fox ; 
"  I  must  first  discharge  my  debts  of  honour."  The 
The  bond-creditor  remonstrated.  "  Well,  Sir,  give  me 
your  bond."  It  was  delivered  to  Fox,  who  tore  it  in 
pieces,  and  threw  them  into  the  fire.  "  Now,  Sir,"  said 
Fox,  "  my  debt  to  you  is  a  debt  of  honour ;"  and  im- 
mediately paid  him. 

Amidst  the  wildest  excesses  of  vouth,  even  while  the 
perpetual  victim  of  his  passion  for  play,  Fox  eagerly  cul- 
tivated at  intervals  his  taste  for  letters,  especially  the 
Greek  and  Roman  historians  and  poets;  and  he  found 
resources  in  their  works,  under  the  most  severe  depres- 


BKOOKES  S   CLUB.  97 

sions  occasioned  by  ill-success  at  the  gaming-table.  One 
morning,  after  Fox  had  passed  the  whole  night  in  com- 
pany with  Topham  Beauclerc  at  faro,  the  two  friends 
were  about  to  separate.  Fox  had  lost  throughout  the 
night,  and  was  in  a  frame  of  mind  approaching  despera- 
tion. Beauclerc's  anxiety  tor  the  consequences  which 
might  ensue  led  him  to  be  early  at  Fox's  lodgings ;  and 
on  arriving,  he  inquired,  not  without  apprehension, 
whether  he  had  risen.  The  servant  replied  that  Mr. 
Fox  was  in  the  drawing-room,  when  Beauclerc  walked 
upstairs,  and  cautiously  opened  the  door,  expecting  to 
behold  a  frantic  gamester  stretched  on  the  floor,  bewail- 
ing his  losses,  or  plunged  in  moody  despair ;  but  he  was 
astonished  to  find  him  reading  a  Greek  Herodotus. 
"What  would  you  have  me  do?"  said  Fox,  "  I  have 
lost  my  last  shilling."  Upon  other  occasions,  after 
staking  and  losing  all  that  he  could  raise  at  faro,  in- 
stead of  exclaiming  against  fortune,  or  manifesting  the 
agitation  natural  under  such  circumstances,  he  would 
lay  his  head  on  the  table,  and  retain  his  place,  but,  ex- 
hausted by  mental  and  bodily  fatigue,  almost  imme- 
diately fall  into  a  profound  sleep. 

One  night,  at  Brookes' s,  Fox  made  some  remark  on 
Government  powder,  in  allusion  to  something  that  had 
happened.  Adams  considered  it  a  reflection,  and  sent 
Fox  a  challenge.  Fox  went  out,  and  took  his  station,  giv- 
ing a  full  front.  Fitzgerald  said,  "  You  must  stand  side- 
ways." Fox  said,  "  Why  I  am  as  thick  one  way  as  the 
other," — "  Fire,"  was  given  :  Adams  fired,  Fox  did  not, 
and  when  they  said  he  must,  he  said,  "■  Fll  be  d — d  if  I  do. 
I  have  no  quarrel."  They  then  advanced  to  shake  hands. 
Fox  said,  "Adams,  you'd  have  killed  me  if  it  had  not  been 
Government  powder."     The  ball  hit  him  in  the  groin. 

VOL.  I.  H 


98  CLUB   LIFE    OF   LONDON. 

Another  celebrated  character,  whofrequented  Brookes' s 
in  the  days  of  Selwyn,  "was  Dunning-,  afterwards  Lord 
Ashburton ;  and  many  keen  encounters  passed  between 
them.  Dunning  was  a  short,  thick  man,  with  a  turn-up 
nose,  a  constant  shake  of  the  head,  and  latterly  a  dis- 
tressing hectic  cough — but  a  wit  of  the  first  water. 
Though  he  died  at  the  comparatively  early  age  of  fifty- 
two,  he  amassed  a  fortune  of  ^8150,000  during  twenty- 
five  years'  practice  at  the  bar ;  and  lived  notwithstand- 
ing, so  liberally,  that  his  mother,  an  attorney's  widow, 
some  of  the  wags  at  Brookes's  wickedly  recorded,  left 
him  in  dudgeon  on  the  score  of  his  extravagance, 
as  humorously  sketched  at  a  dinner  at  the  lawyer's 
country-house  near  Fulham,  when  the  following  con- 
versation was  represented  to  have  occurred  : — 

"  John,"  said  the  old  lady  to  her  son,  after  dinner, 
during  which  she  had  been  astounded  by  the  profusion 
of  the  plate  and  viands, — "  John,  I  shall  not  stop  another 
day  to  witness  such  shameful  extravagance." 

"  But,  my  dear  mother,"  interrupted  Dunning,  "  you 
ought  to  consider  that  I  can  afford  it :  my  income,  you 
know — " 

"No  income,"  said  the  old  lady  impatiently,  "can 
stand  such  shameful  prodigality.  The  sum  which  your 
cook  told  me  that  very  turbot  cost,  ought  to  have  sup- 
ported any  reasonable  family  for  a  week." 

"  Pooh,  pooh !  my  dear  mother,"  replied  the  dutiful 
son,  "you  would  not  have  me  appear  shabby.  Besides, 
what  is  a  turbot?" 

"  Pooh,  pooh  !  what  is  a  turbot  ?"  echoed  the  irritated 
dame:  "  don't  pooh  me,  John:  I  tell  you  such  goings- 
on  can  come  to  no  good,  and  you'll  see  the  end  of  it 
before  long.     However,  it  sha'n't  be  said  your  mother 


BROOKES'S  CLUB.  99 

encouraged  such  sinful  waste,  for  Fll  set  off  in  the  coach 
to  Devonshire  to-morrow  morning." 

u  And  notwithstanding,"  said  Sheridan,  "  all  John's 
rhetorical  efforts  to  detain  her,  the  old  lady  kept  her 
word." 

Sheridan's  election  as  a  member  of  Brookes' s  took 
place  under  conflicting  circumstances.  His  success  at 
Stafford  met  with  fewer  obstacles  than  he  had  to  en- 
counter in  St.  JamesVstreet,  where  Selwyn's  poli- 
tical aversions  and  personal  jealousy  were  very  formi- 
dable, as  were  those  of  the  Earl  of  Bessborough,  and 
they  and  other  members  of  the  Club  had  determined 
to  exclude  Sheridan.  Conscious  that  every  exertion 
would  be  made  to  ensure  his  success,  they  agreed  not  to 
absent  themselves  during  the  time  allowed  by  the  regu- 
lations of  the  Club  for  ballots ;  and  as  one  black  ball 
sufficed  to  extinguish  the  hopes  of  a  candidate,  they 
repeatedly  prevented  his  election.  In  order  to  remove 
so  serious  an  impediment,  Sheridan  had  recourse  to 
artifice.  On  the  evening  when  it  was  resolved  to  put 
him  up,  he  found  his  two  inveterate  enemies  posted  as 
usual.  A  chairman  was  then  sent  with  a  note,  written 
in  the  name  of  her  father-in-law,  Lord  Bessborough, 
acquainting  him  that  a  fire  had  broken  out  in  his  house 
in  Cavendish  Square,  and  entreating  him  immediately 
to  return  home.  Unsuspicious  of  any  trick,  as  his  son 
and  daughter-in-law  lived  under  his  roof,  Lord  Bess- 
borough unhesitatingly  quitted  the  room,  and  got  into 
a  sedan-chair.  Selwyn,  who  resided  not  far  from 
Brookes' s  in  Cleveland-row,  received,  nearly  at  the  same 
time,  a  verbal  message  to  request  his  presence,  in  con- 
sequence of  Miss  Fagniani,  (whom  he  had  adopted  as 
his   daughter,)    being    suddenly  seized    with    alarming 

h2 


100  CLUB   LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

indisposition.  This  summons  he  obeyed ;  and  no  sooner 
was  the  room  cleared,  than  Sheridan  being  proposed  a 
member,  a  ballot  took  place,  when  he  was  immediately 
chosen.  Lord  Bessborough  and  Selwyn  returned  with- 
out delay,  on  discovering  the  imposition  that  had  been 
practised  on  their  credulity,  but  they  were  too  late  to 
prevent  its  effects. 

Such  is  the  story  told  by  Selwyn,  in  his  Memoirs  ; 
but  the  following  account  is  more  generally  acredited. 
The  Prince  of  Wales  joined  Brookes's  Club,  to  have 
more  frequent  intercourse  with  Mr.  Fox,  one  of  its 
earliest  members,  and  who,  on  his  first  acquaintance 
with  Sheridan,  became  anxious  for  his  admission  to  the 
Club.  Sheridan  was  three  times  proposed,  but  as  often 
had  the  black  ball  in  the  ballot,  which  disqualified  him. 
At  length,  the  hostile  ball  was  traced  to  George  Selwyn, 
who  objected,  because  his  (Sheridan's)  father  had  been 
upon  the  stage.  Sheridan  was  apprised  of  this,  and 
desired  that  his  name  might  be  put  up  again,  and  that 
the  further  conduct  of  the  matter  might  be  left  to  himself. 
Accordingly,  on  the  evening  when  he  was  to  be  balloted 
for,  Sheridan  arrived  at  Brookes' s  arm-in-arm  with  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  just  ten  minutes  before  the  balloting 
began.  They  were  shown  into  the  candidates'  waiting- 
room,  when  one  of  the  club-waiters  was  ordered  to  tell 
Mr.  Selwyn  that  the  Prince  desired  to  speak  with  him 
immediately.  Selwyn  obeyed  the  summons,  and  Sheri- 
dan, to  whom  this  version  of  the  affair  states,  Sheridan 
had  no  personal  dislike,  entertained  him  for  half-an-hour 
with  some  political  story,  which  interested  him  very 
much,  but  had  no  foundation  in  truth.  During  Selwyn's 
absence,  the  balloting  went  on,  and  Sheridan  was  chosen ; 
and  the  result  was  announced  to  himself  and  the  Prince 


BROOKES'S   CLUB.  101 

by  the  waiter,  with  the  preconcerted  signal  of  stroking 
his  chin  with  his  hand.  Sheridan  immediately  rose  from 
his  seat,  and  apologizing  for  a  few  minutes'  absence,  told 
Selwyn  that  "  the  Prince  would  finish  the  narrative,  the 
catastrophe  of  which  he  would  find  very  remarkable." 

Sheridan  now  went  upstairs,  was  introduced  to  the 
Club,  and  was  soon  in  all  his  glory.     The  Prince,  in 
the  meantime,  had  not  the  least  idea  of  being  left  to 
conclude   a    story,   the   thread  of    which  (if   it  had  a 
thread)   he  had  entirely  forgotten.     Still,  by  means  of 
Selwyn's  occasional  assistance,  the  Prince  got  on  pretty 
well  for  a  few  minutes,  when  a  question  from  the  listener 
as  to  the  flat  contradiction  of  a  part   of  His    Royal 
Highness'  story  to  that  of  Sheridan,  completely  posed 
the  narrator,  and  he  stuck  fast.     After  much  flounder- 
ing, the  Prince  burst  into  a  loud  laugh,  saying,  "  D — n 
the  fellow,  to  leave  me  to  finish  the  infernal  story,  of 
which  I  know  as  much  as  a  child  unborn  !     But,  never 
mind,  Selwyn  ;  as   Sheridan  does  not  seem  inclined  to 
come  back,  let  me  go  upstairs,  and  I  dare  say  Fox  or 
some  of  them  will  be  able  to  tell  you  all  about  it."  They 
adjourned  to  the  club  room,  and  Selwyn  now  detected 
the  manoeuvre.     Sheridan  then  rose,  made  a  low  bow, 
and  apologized  to  Selwyn,  through  his  dropping  into 
such   good  company,  adding,    "They  have  just    been 
making  me  a  member  without  even  <one  black  ball,  and 
here  I  am."  "  The  devil  they  have  !"exclaimed  Selwyn. — 
"  Facts  speak  for  themselves,"  said  Sheridan ;  "  and  I 
thank  you  for  your  friendly  suffrage  ;  and  now,  if  you  will 
sit  down  by  us,  I  will  finish  my  story." — "  Your  story  ! 
it  is  all  a  lie  from  beginning  to  end,"  exclaimed  Selwyn. 
amidst  loud  laughter  from  all  parts  of  the  room. 

Among  the  members  who  indulged  in  high  play  was 


102  CLUB  LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

Alderman  Combe,  who  is  said  to  have  made  as  much  money 
in  this  way  as  he  did  by  brewing.  One  evening,  whilst 
he  filled  the  office  of  Lord  Mayor,  he  was  busy  at  a  full 
hazard-table  at  Brookes' s,  where  the  wit  and  the  dice- 
box  circulated  together  with  great  glee,  and  where  Beau 
Brummell  was  one  of  the  party.  "  Come,  Mashtub," 
said  Brummell,  who  was  the  caster,  "  what  do  you 
set  ?" — "  Twenty-five  guineas/'  answered  the  Alderman. 
— "  Well,  then/'  returned  the  Beau,  (C  have  at  the  mare's 
pony"  (25  guineas).  He  continued  to  throw  until  he 
drove  home  the  brewer's  twelve  ponies,  running;  and 
then,  getting  up,  and  making  him  a  low  bow,  whilst 
pocketing  the  cash,  he  said,  "  Thank  you,  alderman  ; 
for  the  future,  I  shall  never  drink  any  porter  but  yours." 
—  "I  wish,  Sir,"  replied  the  brewer," that  every  other 
blackguard  in  London  would  tell  me  the  same." 


"FIGHTING  FITZGERALD" 

AT   BROOKES'S. 

This  notorious  person,  George  Robert  Fitzgerald, 
though  nearly  related  to  one  of  the  first  families  in 
Ireland  (Leinster),  was  executed  in  1786,  for  a  murder 
which  he  had  coolly  premeditated,  and  had  perpetrated 
in  a  most  cruel  and  cowardly  manner. 

His  duelling  propensities  had  kept  him  out  of  all  the 
first  Clubs  in  London.  He  once  applied  to  Admiral 
Keith  Stewart  to  propose  him  as  a  candidate  for 
Brookes's ;  when  the  Admiral,  knowing  that  he  must 
either  fight  or  comply  with  his  request,  chose  the  latter. 
Accordingly,  on  the  night  when  the  ballot  was  to  take 


"  FIGHTING  FITZGEKALD  "  AT  BROOKES'S.     103 

place  (which  was  only  a  mere  form  in  this  case,  for  even 
Keith  Steward  had  resolved  to  black-ball  him),  the 
duellist  accompanied  the  Admiral  to  St.  Jameses-street, 
and  waited  in  the  room  below,  while  the  ballot  was 
taken.  This  was  soon  done ;  for,  without  hesitation, 
each  member  threw  in  a  black  ball;  and  when  the 
scrutiny  came,  the  company  were  not  a  little  amazed  to 
find  not  even  one  white  ball  among  the  number.  How- 
ever, the  rejection  being  carried  nem.  con,,  the  question 
was,  which  of  the  members  had  the  hardihood  to  an- 
nounce the  result  to  the  expectant  candidate.  No  one 
would  undertake  the  office,  for  the  announcement  was 
thought  sure  to  produce  a  challenge ;  and  a  duel  with 
Fitzgerald  had,  in  most  cases,  been  fatal  to  his  opponent. 
The  general  opinion  was  that  the  proposer,  Admiral 
Stewart,  should  convey  the  intelligence.  "  No,  gentle- 
men," said  he,  "  I  proposed  the  fellow  because  I  knew 
you  would  not  admit  him ;  but,  by  Jove,  I  have  no  incli- 
nation to  risk  my  life  against  that  of  a  madman." 

"  But,  Admiral,"  replied  the  Duke  of  Devonshire,* 
u  there  being  no  white  ball  in  the  box,  he  must  know 
that  you  have  black-balled  him  as  well  as  the  rest,  and 
he  is  sure  to  call  you  out  at  all  events." 

This  posed  the  Admiral,  who,  after  some  hesitation, 
proposed  that  the  waiter  should  tell  Fitzgerald  that  there 
was  one  black  ball,  and  that  his  name  must  be  put  up 
again  if  he  wished  it.  All  concurred  in  the  propriety 
of  this  plan,  and  the  waiter  was  dispatched  on  the 
mission.  In  the  meantime,  Fitzgerald  had  frequently 
rung  the  bell  to  inquire  "  the  state  of  the  poll,"  and 

*  This  was  the  bon-vivant  Duke  who  had  got  ready  for  him 
every  night,  for  supper,  at  Brookes's,  a  broiled  blade-hone  of 
mutton. 


104  CLUB   LIFE   OF  LONDON 

had  sent  each  waiter  to  ascertain,  but  neither  durst 
return,  when  Mr.  Brookes  took  the  message  from  the 
waiter  who  was  descending  the  staircase,  and  boldly 
entered  the  room,  with  a  coffee  equipage  in  his  hand. 
"Did  you  call  for  coffee,  Sir?"  said  Mr.  Brookes, 
smartly.  "  D — n  your  coffee,  Sir !  and  you  too,"  an- 
swered Mr.  Fitzgerald,  in  a  voice  which  made  the  host's 
blood  run  cold.  n  I  want  to  know,  Sir,  and  that  with- 
out one  moment's  delay,  Sir,  if  I  am  chose  yet  V 

"  Oh,  Sir  \"  replied  Mr.  Brookes,  attempting  to  smile 
away  the  appearance  of  fear,  "  I  beg  your  pardon,  Sir, 
but  I  was  just  coming  to  announce  to  you,  Sir,  with 
Admiral  Stewart's  compliments,  Sir,  that  unfortunately 
there  was  one  black  ball  in  the  box,  Sir;  and  conse- 
quently, by  the  rules  of  the  Club,  Sir,  no  candidate  can 
be  admitted  without  a  new  election,  Sir ; — which  cannot 
take  place,  by  the  standing  regulations  of  the  Club,  Sir, 
until  one  month  from  this  time,  Sir." 

During  this  address,  Fitzgerald's  irascibility  appeared 
to  undergo  considerable  mollification ;  and  at  its  close, 
he  grasped  Brookes's  hand,  saying,  "  My  dear  Brookes, 
I'm  chose ;  but  there  must  be  a  small  matter  of  mistake 
in  my  election :"  he  then  persuaded  Brookes  to  go  up- 
stairs, and  make  his  compliments  to  the  gentlemen,  and 
say,  as  it  was  only  a  mistake  of  one  black  ball,  they 
would  be  so  good  as  to  waive  all  ceremony  on  his  ac- 
count, and  proceed  to  re-elect  their  humble  servant  with- 
out any  more  delay  at  all."  Many  of  the  members 
were  panic-struck,  foreseeing  a  disagreeable  finale  to  the 
farce  which  they  had  been  playing.  Mr.  Brookes  stood 
silent,  waiting  for  the  answer.  At  length,  the  Earl  of 
March  (afterwards  Duke  of  Queensberry)  said  aloud, 
"  Try  the  effect  of  two  balls  :  d — n  his  Irish  impudence, 


"  FIGHTING   FITZGEEALD      AT  BROOKES  S.       105 

if  two  balls  don't  take  effect  upon  him,  I  don't  know 
what  will."  This  proposition  was  agreed  to,  and  Brookes 
was  ordered  to  communicate  the  same. 

On  re-entering  the  waiting-room,  Mr.  Fitzgerald 
eagerly  inquired,  "  Have  they  elected  me  right,  now,  Mr. 
Brookes  ?"  the  reply  was,  "  Sorry  to  inform  you  that  the 
result  of  the  second  balloting  is — that  two  black  balls  were 
dropped,  Sir." — "  Then,"  exclaimed  Fitzgerald,  "  there's 
now  two  mistakes  instead  of  one."  He  then  persuaded 
Brookes  again  to  proceed  upstairs,  and  tell  the  honourable 
members  to  "  try  again,  and  make  no  more  mistakes." 
General  Fitzpatrick  proposed  that  Brookes  should  reply, 
"  His  cause  was  all  hopeless,  for  that  he  was  black- 
balled all  over,  from  head  to  foot,  and  it  was  hoped  by 
all  the  members  that  Mr.  Fitzgerald  would  not  persist  in 
thrusting  himself  into  society  where  his  company  was 
declined."  This  message  was  of  no  avail :  no  sooner  had 
Fitzgerald  heard  it  than  he  exclaimed  :  "  Oh,  I  perceive 
it  is  a  mistake  altogether,  Mr.  Brookes,  and  I  must  see 
to  the  rectifying  of  it  myself,  there's  nothing  like  dating 
with  principals ;  so,  I'll  step  up  at  once,  and  put  this 
thing  to  rights,  without  any  more  unnecessary  delay." 

In  spite  of  Mr.  Brookes's  remonstrance,  that  his  en- 
trance into  the  Club-room  was  against  all  rule  and  eti- 
quette, Fitzgerald  flew  upstairs,  and  entered  the  room 
without  any  further  ceremony  than  a  bow,  saying  to  the 
members,  who  indignantly  rose  at  the  intrusion,  "  Your 
servant,  gentlemen — I  beg  ye  will  be  sated." 

Walking  up  to  the  fireplace,  he  thus  addressed  Ad- 
miral Stewart : — "  So,  my  dear  Admiral,  Mr.  Brookes 
informs  me  that  I  have  been  elected  three  times." 

"  You  have  been  balloted  for,  Mr.  Fitzgerald,  but  I  am 
sorry  to  say  you  have  not  been  chosen,"  said  Stewart. 


106  CLUB  LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

"Well,  then,"  replied  the  duellist,  "did  you  black- 
ball me  ?" — "  My  good  Sir,"  answered  the  Admiral, 
"  how  could  you  suppose  such  a  thing?" — "  Oh,  I  sup- 
posed no  such  thing,  my  dear  fellow ;  I  only  want  to 
know  who  it  was  that  dropped  the  black  balls  in  by  ac- 
cident, as  it  were  \>s 

Fitzgerald  now  went  up  to  each  individual  member, 
and  put  the  same  question  seriatim,  "  Did  you  black-ball 
me,  Sir?"  until  he  made  the  round  of  the  whole  Club; 
and  in  each  case  he  received  a  reply  similar  to  that  of 
the  Admiral.  When  he  had  finished  his  inquisition, 
he  thus  addressed  the  whole  body  :  "  You  see,  Gentle- 
men, that  as  none  of  ye  have  black-balled  me,  /  must  be 
chose  ;  and  it  is  Mr.  Brookes  that  has  made  the  mistake. 
But  I  was  convinced  of  it  from  the  beginning,  and  I  am 
only  sorry  that  so  much  time  has  been  lost  as  to  prevent 
honourable  gentlemen  from  enjoying  each  other's  com- 
pany sooner."  He  then  desired  the  waiter  to  bring 
him  a  bottle  of  champagne,  that  he  might  drink  long  life 
to  the  Club,  and  wish  them  joy  of  their  unanimous  elec- 
tion of  a  rael  gentleman  by  father  and  mother,  and  who 
never  missed  Ids  man." 

The  members  now  saw  that  there  was  nothing  to  be 
done  but  to  send  the  intruder  to  Coventry,  which  they 
appeared  to  do  by  tacit  agreement ;  for  when  Admiral 
Stewart  departed,  Mr.  Fitzgerald  found  himself  cut  by 
all  his  "  dear  friends."  The  members  now  formed  parties 
at  the  whist-table ;  and  no  one  replied  to  Fitzgerald's 
observations  nor  returned  even  a  nod  to  the  toasts  and 
healths  which  he  drank  in  three  bottles  of  champagne, 
which  the  terrified  waiter  placed  before  him,  in  succes- 
sion. At  length,  he  arose,  made  a  low  bow,  and  took 
leave,  promising  to  "come  earlier  next  night,  and  have 


AKTHURS   CLUB.  107 

a  little  more  of  it."  It  was  then  agreed  that  half-a- 
dozen  stout  constables  should  be  in  waiting  the  next 
evening  to  bear  him  off  to  the  watch-house,  if  he  at- 
tempted again  to  intrude.  Of  this  measure,  Fitzgerald 
seemed  to  be  aware ;  for  he  never  again  showed  himself 
at  Brookes's;  though  he  boasted  everywhere  that  he  had 
been  unanimously  chosen  a  member  of  the  Club. 


ARTHUR'S   CLUB. 

This  Club,  established  more  than  a  century  since,  at 
No.  69,  St.  Jameses-street,  derives  its  name  from  Mr. 
Arthur,  the  master  of  White's  Chocolate-house  in  the 
same  street.  Mr.  Cunningham  records  :  "  Arthur  died 
in  June,  1761,  in  St.  James's-place  ;  and  in  the  following 
October,  Mr.  Mackreth  married  Arthur's  only  child, 
and  Arthur's  Chocolate-house,  as  it  was  then  called, 
became  the  property  of  this  Mr.  Mackreth." 

Walpole,  writing  in  1759,  has  this  odd  note:  "  I 
stared  to-day  at  Piccadilly  like  a  country  squire ;  there 
are  twenty  new  stone  houses  :  at  first  I  concluded  that 
all  the  grooms  that  used  to  live  there,  had  got  estates 
and  built  palaces.  One  young  gentleman,  who  was  get- 
ting an  estate,  but  was  so  indiscreet  as  to  step  out  of  his 
way  to  rob  a  comrade,  is  convicted,  and  to  be  trans- 
ported ;  in  short,  one  of  the  waiters  at  Arthur's.  George 
Selwyn  says,  '  What  a  horrid  idea  he  will  give  us  of  the 
people  in  Newgate  ?"' 

Mackreth  prospered ;  for  Walpole,  writing  to  Mann, 
in  1774,  speaking  of  the  New  Parliament,  says  :  "Bob, 


108  CLUB  LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

formerly  a  waiter  at  White's,  was  set  up  by  rny  nephew 
for  two  boroughs,  and  actually  is  returned  for  Castle 
Rising  with  Mr.  Wedderburne  ; 

"  '  Servus  curru  portatur  eodem  ;* 

which  I  suppose  will  offend  the  Scottish  Consul,  as  most 
of  his  countrymen  resent  an  Irishman  standing  for  West- 
minster, which  the  former  reckon  a  borough  of  their 
own.  For  my  part,  waiter  for  waiter,  I  see  little  dif- 
ference ;  they  were  all  equally  ready  to  cry,  '  Coming, 
coming,  Sir/  " 

Mackreth  was  afterwards  knighted  ;  and  upon  him  ap- 
peared this  smart  and  well-remembered  epigram : 

"  When  Mackreth  served  in  Arthur's  crew, 
He  said  to  Kumbold,  '  Black  my  shoe;' 

To  which  he  answer'd,  '  Ay,  Bob.' 
But  when  return'd  from  India's  land, 
And  grown  too  proud  to  brook  command, 

He  sternly  answer'd,  '  Nay,  Bob.'  " 

The  Club-house  was  rebuilt  in  1825,  upon  the  site  of 
the  original  Chocolate-house,  Thomas  Hopper,  architect, 
at  which  time  it  possessed  more  than  average  design : 
the  front  is  of  stone,  and  is  enriched  with  fluted  Corin- 
thian columns. 


WHITE'S  CLUB. 

This  celebrated  Club  was  originally  established  as 
"  White's  Chocolate-house,"  in  1698,  five  doors  from  the 
bottom  of  the  west  side  of  St.  JamesVstreet,  "  ascend- 
ing from  St.  James's  Palace."   (Hatton,  1708.)    A  print 


white's  CLUB.  109 

of  the  time  shows  a  small  garden  attached  to  the  house : 
at  the  tables  in  the  house  or  garden,  more  than  one  high- 
wayman took  his  chocolate,  or  threw  his  main,  before  he 
quietly  mounted  his  horse,  and  rode  down  Piccadilly 
towards  Bagshot."  (Doran's  Table  Traits.)  It  was 
destroyed  by  fire,  April  28,  1733,  when  the  house  was 
kept  by  Mr.  Arthur,  who  subsequently  gave  his  name  to 
the  Club  called  Arthur's,  still  existing  a  few  doors  above 
the  original  White's.  At  the  fire,  young  Arthur's  wife 
leaped  out  of  a  second  floor  window,  upon  a  feather-bed, 
without  much  hurt.  A  fine  collection  of  paintings,  be- 
longing to  Sir  Andrew  Fountaine,  valued  at  3000/.,  was 
entirely  destroyed.  The  King  and  the  Prince  of  Wales 
were  present  above  an  hour,  and  encouraged  the  firemen 
and  people  to  work  at  the  engines ;  a  guard  being  or- 
dered from  St.  James's,  to  keep  off  the  populace.  His 
Majesty  ordered  twenty  guineas  to  be  distributed  among 
the  firemen  and  others  that  worked  at  the  engines,  and 
five  guineas  to  the  guard ;  and  the  Prince  ordered  the 
firemen  ten  guineas.  "  The  incident  of  the  fire,"  says 
Mr.  Cunningham,  "  was  made  use  of  by  Hogarth,  in 
Plate  VI.  of  the  Rake's  Progress,  representing  a  room 
at  White's.  The  total  abstraction  of  the  gamblers  is 
well  expressed  by  their  utter  inattention  to  the  alarm  of 
the  fire  given  by  watchmen,  who  are  bursting  open  the 
doors.  Plate  IV.  of  the  same  pictured  moral  repre- 
sents a  group  of  chimney-sweepers  and  shoe-blacks  gam- 
bling on  the  ground  ovej-against  White's.  To  indicate 
the  Club  more  fully,  Hogarth  has  inserted  the  name 
Black's." 

Arthur,  thus  burnt  out,  removed  to  Gaunt' s  Coffee- 
house, next  the  St.  James's  Coffee-house,  and  which 
bore  the  name  of  "  White's" — a  myth.     The  Tatler,  in 


110  CLUB   LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

his  first  Number,  promises  that  u  all  accounts  of  gal- 
lantry, pleasure,  and  entertainment,  shall  be  under  the 
article  of  White's  Chocolate-house."  Addison,  in  his 
Prologue  to  Steele's  Tender  Husband,  catches  "  the  ne- 
cessary spark"  sometimes  "taking  snuff  at  White's." 

The  Chocolate-house,  open  to  any  one,  became  a  pri- 
vate Club-house  :  the  earliest  record  is  a  book  of  rules 
and  list  of  members  of  the  old  Club  at  White's,  dated 
October  30th,  1736.  The  principal  members  were  the 
Duke  of  Devonshire ;  the  Earls  of  Cholmondeley,  Ches- 
terfield, and  Rockingham  ;  Sir  John  Cope,  Major-Ge- 
neral Churchill,  Bubb  Dodington,  and  Colley  Cibber. 
Walpole  tells  us  that  the  celebrated  Earl  of  Chesterfield 
lived  at  White's,  gaming  and  pronouncing  witticisms 
among  the  boys  of  quality ;  "  yet  he  says  to  his  son, 
that  a  member  of  a  gaming  club  should  be  a  cheat,  or 
he  will  soon  be  a  beggar,"  an  inconsistency  which  re- 
minds one  of  old  Fuller's  saw :  "  A  father  that  whipt 
his  son  for  swearing,  and  swore  himself  whilst  he  whipt 
him,  did  more  harm  by  his  example  than  good  by  his 
correction." 

Swift,  in  his  Essay  on  Modern  Education,  gives  the 
Chocolate-house  a  sad  name.  "  I  have  heard,"  he  says, 
"  that  the  late  Earl  of  Oxford,  in  the  time  of  his  mi- 
nistry, never  passed  by  White's  Chocolate-house  (the 
common  rendezvous  of  infamous  sharpers  and  noble 
cullies)  without  bestowing  a  curse  upon  that  famous 
Academy,  as  the  bane  of  half  the  English  nobility." 

The  gambling  character  of  the  Club  may  also  be  ga- 
thered from  Lord  Lyttelton  writing  to  Dr.  Doddridge, 
in  1750.  "The  Dryads  of  Hagley  are  at  present  pretty 
secure,  but  I  tremble  to  think  that  the  rattling  of  a 
dice-box  at  White's  may  one  day  or  other  (if  my  son 


WHITES   CLUB.  Ill 

should  be  a  member  of  that  noble  academy)  shake  down 
all  our  fine  oaks.  It  is  dreadful  to  see,  not  only  there, 
but  almost  in  every  house  in  town,  what  devastations 
are  made  by  that  destructive  fury,  the  spirit  of  play." 

SwifVs  character  of  the  company  is  also  borne  out  by 
Walpole,  in  a  letter  to  Mann,  December  16,  1748  : 
"  There  is  a  man  about  town,  Sir  William  Burdett,  a 
man  of  very  good  family,  but  most  infamous  character. 
In  short,  to  give  you  his  character  at  once,  there  is  a 
wager  entered  in  the  bet-book  at  White's  (a  MS.  of 
which  I  may  one  day  or  other  give  you  an  account), 
that  the  first  baronet  that  will  be  hanged  is  this  Sir 
William  Burdett." 

Again,  Glover,  the  poet,  in  his  Autobiography,  tells 
us  :  "  Mr.  Pelham  (the  Prime  Minister)  was  originally 
an  officer  in  the  army,  and  a  professed  gamester ;  of  a 
narrow  mind,  low  parts,  etc.  .  .  .  By  long  experience 
and  attendance  he  became  experienced  as  a  Parliament 
man ;  and  even  when  Minister,  divided  his  time  to  the 
last  between  his  office  and  the  club  of  gamesters  at 
White's."     And,  Pope,  in  the  Dunciad,  has : 

"  Or  chair'd  at  White's,  amidst  the  doctors  sit, 
Teach  oaths  to  gamesters,  and  to  nobles  wit." 

The  Club  removed,  in  1755,  to  the  east  side  of  St. 
James's-street,  No.  38.  The  house  had  had  previously 
a  noble  and  stately  tenant ;  for  here  resided  the  Coun- 
tess of  Northumberland,  widow  of  Algernon,  tenth 
Earl  of  Northumberland,  who  died  1688.  "  My  friend 
Lady  Suffolk,  her  niece  by  marriage,"  writes  Walpole, 
"  has  talked  to  me  of  her  having,  on  that  alliance,  vi- 
sited her.  She  then  lived  in  the  house  now  White's,  at 
the  upper  end  of  St.  James's-street,  and  was  the  last 


112  CLUB  LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

who  kept  up  the  ceremonious  state  of  the  old  peerage. 
When  she  went  out  to  visit,  a  footman,  bareheaded, 
walked  on  each  side  of  her  coach,  and  a  second  coach 
with  her  women  attended  her.  I  think,  too,  that  Lady 
Suffolk  told  me  that  her  granddaughter-in-law,  the  Du- 
chess of  Somerset,  never  sat  down  before  her  without 
leave  to  do  so.  I  suppose  the  old  Duke  Charles  [the 
proud  Duke]  had  imbibed  a  good  quantity  of  his  stately 
pride  in  such  a  school."  [Letter  to  the  Bishop  of  Dro- 
more,  September  18,  1792.)  This  high-minded  dame 
had  published  a  "  Volume  of  Prayers." 

Among  the  Rules  of  the  Club,  every  member  was  to 
pay  one  guinea  a  year  towards  having  a  good  cook ; 
the  names  of  all  candidates  were  to  be  deposited  with 
Mr.  Arthur  or  Bob  [Mackreth] .  In  balloting,  every 
member  was  to  put  in  his  ball,  and  such  person  or  per- 
sons who  refuse  to  comply  with  it,  shall  pay  the  supper 
reckoning  of  that  night ;  and,  in  1 769,  it  was  agreed 
that  '  every  member  of  this  Club  who  is  in  the  Billiard- 
Room  at  the  time  the  Supper  is  declared  upon  table, 
shall  pay  his  reckoning  if  he  does  not  sup  at  the  Young 
Club/ » 

Of  Colley  Cibber's  membership  we  find  this  odd  ac- 
count in  Davies's  Life  of  Garrick : — "  Colley,  Ave  told, 
had  the  honour  to  be  a  member  of  the  great  Club  at 
White's;  and  so  I  suppose  might  any  other  man  who 
wore  good  clothes  and  paid  his  money  when  he  lost  it. 
But  on  what  terms  did  Cibber  live  with  this  society  ? 
Why,  he  feasted  most  sumptuously,  as  I  have  heard  his 
friend  Victor  say,  with  an  air  of  triumphant  exultation, 
with  Mr.  Arthur  and  his  wife,  and  gave  a  trifle  for  his 
dinner.  After  he  had  dined,  when  the  Club-room  door 
was  opened,  and  the  Laureate  was  introduced,  he  was 


white's.  CLUB.  113 

saluted  with  loud  and  joyous  acclamation  of  f  O  King 
Coll!  Come  in,  King  Coll !'  and  'Welcome,  welcome, 
King  Colley  I'  And  this  kind  of  gratulation,  Mr.  Victor 
thought,  was  very  gracious  and  very  honourable." 

In  the  Rules  quoted  by  Mr.  Cunningham,  from  the 
Club-books,  we  find  that  in  1780,  a  dinner  was  ready 
every  day  during  the  sitting  of  Parliament,  at  a  reckon- 
ing of  1.2s.  per  head;  in  1797,  at  10s.  6d.  per  head, 
malt  liquors,  biscuits,  oranges,  apples,  and  olives  in- 
cluded ;  hot  suppers  provided  at  8s.  per  head ;  and  cold 
meat,  oysters,  etc.,  at  4s.,  malt  liquor  only  included. 
And,  "  that  Every  Member  who  plays  at  Chess,  Draughts, 
or  Backgammon  do  pay  One  Shilling  each  time  of  play- 
ing by  daylight,  and  half- a -crown  each  by  candle- 
light." 

White's  was  from  the  beginning  principally  a  gaming 
Club.  The  play  was  mostly  at  hazard  and  faro;  no 
member  wras  to  hold  a  faro  Bank.  Whist  was  com- 
paratively harmless.  Professional  gamblers,  who  lived 
by  dice  and  cards,  provided  they  were  free  from  the  im- 
putation of  cheating,  procured  admission  to  White's.  It 
was  a  great  supper-house,  and  there  was  play  before  and 
after  supper,  carried  on  to  a  late  hour  and  heavy  amounts. 
Lord  Carlisle  lost  10,000/.  in  one  night,  and  was  in  debt 
to  the  house  for  the  whole.  He  tells  Selwyn  of  a  set, 
in  which  at  one  point  of  the  game,  stood  to  win  50,000/. 
Sir  John  Bland,  of  Kippax  Park,  who  shot  himself  in 
1755,  as  we  learn  from  Walpole,  flirted  away  his  whole 
fortune  at  hazard.  "  He  t'other  night  exceeded  what 
was  lost  by  the  late  Duke  of  Bedford,  having  at  one 
period  of  the  night,  (though  he  recovered  the  greater 
part  of  it,)  lost  two-and-thirty  thousand  pounds." 

Lord  Mountford  came  to  a  tragic  end  through  his 

vol.  i.  -    I 


114  CLUB   LIFE    OF   LONDON. 

gambling.  He  had  lost  money ;  feared  to  be  reduced 
to  distress ;  asked  for  a  Government  appointment,  and 
determined  to  throw  the  die  of  life  or  death,  on  the 
answer  he  received  from  Court.  The  answer  was  unfa- 
vourable. He  consulted  several  persons,  indirectly  at 
first,  afterwards  pretty  directly — on  the  easiest  mode  of 
finishing  life  ;  invited  a  dinner-party  for  the  day  after  ; 
supped  at  White's,  and  played  at  whist  till  one  o'clock 
of  the  New  Year's  morning.  Lord  Robert  Bertie  drank 
to  him  "a  happy  new  year;"  he  clapped  his  hand 
strangely  to  his  eyes.  In  the  morning,  he  sent  for  a 
lawyer  and  three  witnesses,  executed  his  will  j  made  them 
read  it  twice  over,  paragraph  by  paragraph ;  asked  the 
lawyer  if  that  will  would  stand  good  though  a  man  were 
to  shoot  himself.  Being  assured  it  would,  he  said, 
"  Pray  stay,  while  I  step  into  the  next  room," — went  into 
the  next  room,  and  shot  himself. 

Walpole  writes  to  Mann  :  "  John  Damier  and  his  two 
brothers  have  contracted  a  debt,  one  can  scarcely  ex- 
pect to  be  believed  out  of  England, — of  70,000/.  .  .  . 
The  young  men  of  this  age  seem  to  make  a  law  among 
themselves  for  declaring  their  fathers  superannuated 
at  fifty,  and  thus  dispose  of  their  estates  as  if  already 
their  own."  "Can  you  believe  that  Lord  Foley's  two 
sons  have  borrowed  money  so  extravagantly,  that  the 
interest  they  have  contracted  to  pay,  amounts  to  18,000/. 
a  year." 

Fox's  love  of  play  was  frightful :  his  best  friends  are 
said  to  have  been  half-ruined  in  annuities,  given  by  them 
as  securities  for  him  to  the  Jews.  Five  hundred  thou- 
sand a  year  of  such  annuities,  of  Fox  and  his  Society, 
were  advertised  to  be  sold,  at  one  time :  Walpole  won- 
dered what  Fox  would  do  when  he  had  sold  the  estates 


white's  CLUB.  115 

of  all  his  friends.  Here  are  some  instances  of  his 
desperate  play.  Walpole  further  notes  that  in  the  de- 
bate on  the  Thirty-nine  Articles,  February  6,  1772,  Fox 
did  not  shine,  "  nor  could  it  be  wondered  at.  He  had 
sat  up  playing  at  hazard  at  Almack's,  from  Tuesday 
evening  the  4th,  till  five  in  the  afternoon  of  Wednesday, 
5th.  An  hour  before  he  had  recovered  12,000/.  that  he 
had  lost,  and  by  dinner,  which  was  at  five  o'clock,  he  had 
ended  losing  1 1,000/.  On  the  Thursday,  he  spoke  in  the 
above  debate  ;  went  to  dinner  at  past  eleven  at  night ; 
from  thence  to  White's,  where  he  drank  till  seven  the 
next  morning ;  thence  to  Almack's,  where  he  won  6,000/.; 
and  between  three  and  four  in  the  afternoon  he  set  out 
for  Newmarket.  His  brother  Stephen  lost  11,000/.  two 
nights  after,  and  Charles  10,000/.  more  on  the  13th ;  so 
that,  in  three  nights,  the  two  brothers,  the  eldest  not 
twenty-five,  lost  32,000/. 

Walpole  and  a  party  of  friends,  (Dick  Edgecumbe, 
George  Selwyn,  and  Williams,)  in  1756,  composed  a 
piece  of  heraldic  satire — a  coat-of-arms  for  the  two 
gaming-clubs  at  White's, — which  was  "  actually  engrav- 
ing from  a  very  pretty  painting  of  Edgecumbe,  whom 
Mr.  Chute,  as  Strawberry  King  at  arms,"  appointed  their 
chief  herald-painter.  The  blazon  is  vert  (for  a  card- 
table)  ;  three  parolis  proper  on  a  chevron  sable  (for  a 
hazard-table) ;  two  rouleaux  in  sal  tire  between  two  dice 
proper,  on  a  canton  sable;  a  white  ball  (for  election) 
argent.  The  supporters  are  an  old  and  young  knave  of 
clubs ;  the  crest,  an  arm  out  of  an  earl's  coronet  shaking 
a  dice-box ;  and  the  motto,  "  Cogit  amor  nummi." 
Round  the  arms  is  a  claret-bottle  ticket  by  way  of  order. 
The  painting  above  mentioned  by  Walpole  of  "  the  Old 
and  Young  Club  at  Arthur's  "  was  bought  at  the  sale  of 

i  2 


116  CLUB   LIFE    OF   LONDON. 

Strawberry  Hill  by  Arthur's  Club-house  for  twenty-two 
shillings. 

At  White's,  the  least  difference  of  opinion  invariably 
ended  in  a  bet,  and  a  book  for  entering  the  particulars 
of  all  bets  was  always  laid  upon  the  table ;  one  of  these, 
with  entries  of  a  date  as  early  as  1744,  Mr.  Cunningham 
tells  us,  had  been  preserved.  A  book  for  entering  bets 
is  still  laid  on  the  table. 

In  these  betting  books  are  to  be  found  bets  on  births, 
deaths,  and  marriages ;  the  length  of  a  life,  or  the  du- 
ration of  a  ministry ;  a  placeman's  prospect  of  a  coro- 
net ;  on  the  shock  of  an  earthquake ;  or  the  last  scandal 
at  Ranelagh,  or  Madame  Cornelys's.  A  man  dropped 
down  at  the  door  of  White's ;  he  was  carried  into  the 
house.  Was  he  dead  or  not  ?  The  odds  were  imme- 
diately given  and  taken  for  and  against.  It  was  proposed 
to  bleed  him.  Those  who  had  taken  the  odds  the  man 
was  dead,  protested  that  the  use  of  a  lancet  would  affect 
the  fairness  of  the  bet. 

Walpole  gives  some  of  these  narratives  as  good  stories 
,c  made  on  White's."  A  parson  coming  into  the  Club 
on  the  morning  of  the  earthquake  of  1750,  and  hearing 
bets  laid  whether  the  shock  was  caused  by  an  earthquake 
or  the  blowing-up  of  powder-mills.,  went  away  in  horror, 
protesting  they  were  such  an  impious  set,  that  he  be- 
lieved if  the  last  trump  were  to  sound,  they  would  bee 
puppet-show  against  Judgment."  Gilly  Williams  writes 
to  Selwyn,  1764,  "  Lord  Digby  is  very  soon  to  be  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Fielding."  Thousands  might  have  been 
won  in  this  house  (White's),  on  his  Lordship  not  know- 
ing that  such  a  being  existed. 

Mr.  Cunningham  tells  us  that  "  the  marriage  of  a 
young  lady  of  rank  would  occasion  a  bet  of  a  hundred 


white's  CLUB.  117 

guineas,  that  she  would  give  birth  to  a  live  child  before 

the  Countess  of ■,  who  had  been  married  three  or 

even  more  months  before  her.  Heavy  bets  were  pend- 
ing, that  Arthur,  who  was  then  a  widower,  would  be  mar- 
ried before  a  member  of  the  Club  of  about  the  same  age, 
and  also  a  widower ;  and  that  Sarah,  Duchess  of  Marl- 
borough, would  outlive  the  old  Duchess  of  Cleveland." 

"  One  of  the  youth  at  White's,"  writes  Walpole  to 
Mann,  July  10,  1744,  "  has  committed  a  murder,  and 
intends  to  repeat  it.  He  betted  £1500  that  a  man 
could  live  twelve  hours  under  water ;  hired  a  desperate 
fellow,  sunk  him  in  a  ship,  by  way  of  experiment,  and 
both  ship  and  man  have  not  appeared  since.  Another 
man  and  ship  are  to  be  tried  for  their  lives,  instead  of 
Mr.  Blake,  the  assassin." 

Walpole  found  at  White's,  a  very  remarkable  entry  in 
their  very — very  remarkable  wager-book,  which  is  still 
preserved.  "Lord  Mountford  bets  Sir  John  Bland 
twenty  guineas  that  Nash  outlives  Cibber."  "  How  odd," 
says  Walpole,  "  that  these  two  old  creatures,  selected  for 
their  antiquities,  should  live  to  see  both  their  wagerers 
put  an  end  to  their  own  lives  !  Cibber  is  within  a  few 
days  of  eighty-four,  still  hearty,  and  clear,  and  well. 
I  told  him  I  was  glad  to  see  him  look  so  well.  c  Faith/ 
said  he,  fit  is  very  well  that  I  look  at  all.'"  Lord 
Mountford  would  have  been  the  winner :  Cibber  died 
in  1757;  Nash  in  1761. 

Here  is  a  nice  piece  of  Selwyn' s  ready  wit.  He  and 
Charles  Townshend  had  a  kind  of  wit  combat  together. 
Selwyn,  it  is  said,  prevailed  ;  and  Charles  Townshend 
took  the  wit  home  in  his  carriage,  and  dropped  him 
at  White's.  "  Remember,"  said  Selwyn,  as  they  parted, 
"this  is  the  first  set-down  you  have  given  me  to-day." 


118  CLUB    LIFE    OF  LONDON. 

"  St.  Leger,"  says  Walpole,  "  was  at  the  bead  of  these 
luxurious  heroes — he  is  the  hero  of  all  fashion.  I  never 
saw  more  dashing  vivacity  and.  absurdity  with  some 
flashes  of  parts.  He  had  a  cause  the  other  day  for  duck- 
ing a  sharper,  and  was  going  to  swear ;  the  judge  said  to 
him,  '  I  see,  Sir,  you  are  very  ready  to  take  an  oath/ 
1  Yes,  my  Lord/  replied  St.  Leger,  '  my  father  was  a 
judge/  "  St.  Leger  was  a  lively  club  member.  "  Rigby," 
writes  the  Duke  of  Bedford,  July  2,  1751,  "the  town 
is  grown  extremely  thin  within  this  week,  though  White's 
continues  numerous  enough,  with  young  people  only,  for 
Mr.  St.  Leger' s  vivacity,  and  the  idea  the  old  ones  have 
of  it,  prevent  the  great  chairs  at  the  Old  Club  from  be- 
ing filled  with  their  proper  drowsy  proprietors." 

In  Hogarth's  gambling  scene  at  White's,  we  see  the 
highwayman,  with  the  pistols  peeping  out  of  his  pocket, 
waiting  by  the  fireside  till  the  heaviest  winner  takes  his 
departure,  in  order  to  "recoup"  himself  of  his  losings. 
And  in  the  Beaux1  Stratagem,  Aim  well  asks  of  Gibbet, 
"  Ha'n't  I  seen  your  face  at  White's?" — "Ay,  and  at 
Will's  too,"  is  the  highwayman's  answer. 

M 'Clean,  the  fashionable  highwayman,  had  a  lodging 
in  St.  James's-street,  over-against  White's ;  and  he  was 
as  well  known  about  St.  James's  as  any  gentleman  who 
lived  in  that  quarter,  and  who,  perhaps,  went  upon  the 
road  too.  When  Mf Clean  was  taken,  in  1750,  Walpole 
tells  us  that  Lord  Mountford,  at  the  head  of  half  White's, 
went  the  first  day ;  his  aunt  was  crying  over  him ;  as 
soon  as  they  were  withdrawn,  she  said  to  him,  knowing 
they  were  of  White's,  w  My  dear,  what  did  the  Lords  say 
to  you  ?  Have  you  ever  been  concerned  with  any  of  them  ? 
Was  it  not  admirable  ?  What  a  favourable  idea  people 
must  have  of  White's  ! — and  what  if  White's  should  not 
deserve  a  much  better  ?  " 


WHITES   CLUB.  119 

A  waitership  at  a  club  sometimes  led  to  fortune.  Tho- 
mas Rumbold,  originally  a  waiter  at  White's,  got  an  ap- 
pointment in  India,  and  suddenly  rose  to  be  Sir  Thomas, 
and  Governor  of  Madras.  On  his  return,  with  immense 
wealth,  a  bill  of  pains  and  penalties  was  brought  into  the 
House  by  Dundas,  with  the  view  of  stripping  Sir  Robert 
of  his  ill-gotten  gains.  This  bill  was  briskly  pushed 
through  the  earlier  stages ;  suddenly  the  proceedings 
were  arrested  by  adjournment,  and  the  measure  fell  to 
the  ground.  The  rumour  of  the  day  attributed  Rum- 
bold's escape  to  the  corrupt  assistance  of  Rigby ;  who, 
in  1782,  found  himself,  by  Lord  North's  retirement,  de- 
prived of  his  place  in  the  Pay  Office,  and  called  upon  to 
refund  a  large  amount  of  public  moneys  unaccounted 
for.  In  this  strait,  Rigby  was  believed  to  have  had  re- 
course to  Rumbold.  Their  acquaintance  had  commenced 
in  earlier  days,  when  Rigby  was  one  of  the  boldest  "  pun- 
ters" at  White's,  and  Rumbold  bowed  to  him  for  half- 
crowns.  Rumbold  is  said  to  have  given  Rigby  a  large 
sum  of  money,  on  condition  of  the  former  being  released 
from  the  impending  pains  and  penalties.  The  truth  of 
this  report  has  been  vehemently  denied;  but  the  cir- 
cumstances are  suspicious.  The  bill  was  dropped  :  Dun- 
das, its  introducer,  was  Rigby's  intimate  associate. 
Rigby's  nephew  and  heir  soon  after  married  Rumbold's 
daughter.  Sir  Thomas  himself  had  married  a  daughter 
of  Dr.  Law,  Bishop  of  Carlisle.  The  worthy  Bishop 
stood  godfather  to  one  of  Rumbold's  children ;  the  other 
godfather  was  the  Nabob  of  Arcot,  and  the  child  was 
christened  "  Mahomet."  So,  at  least,  Walpole  informs 
Mann.*" 

Rigby  was  a  man  of  pleasure  at  White's.     Wilkes,  in 
*  National  Review,  No.  8. 


120  CLUB    LIFE    OF   LONDON. 

the  North  Briton,  describes  Rigby  as  "  an  excellent  bon- 
vivant,  amiable  and  engaging ;  having  all  the  gibes  and 
gambols,  and  flashes  of  merriment,  which  set  the  table  in 
a  roar.  "  In  a  letter  to  Selwyn,  Rigby  writes  :  I  am  just 
got  home  from  a  cock-match,  where  I  have  won  forty 
pounds  in  ready  money  ;  and  not  having  dined,  am  wait- 
ing till  I  hear  the  rattle  of  the  coaches  from  the  House 
of  Commons,  in  order  to  dine  at  White's.  .  .  .  The  next 
morning  I  heard  there  had  been  extreme  deep  play,  and 
that  Harry  Furnese  went  drunk  from  White's  at  six 
o'clock,  and  with  the  ever  memorable  sum  of  1000 
guineas.  He  won  the  chief  part  of  Doneraile  and  Bob 
Bertie." 

The  Club  has  had  freaks  of  epicurism.  In  1751,  seven 
young  men  of  fashion,  headed  by  St.  Leger,  gave  a  din- 
ner at  White's :  one  dish  was  a  tart  of  choice  cherries 
from  a  hot-house ;  only  one  glass  was  tasted  out  of  each 
bottle  of  champagne.  "  The  bill  of  fare  is  got  into  print," 
writes  Walpole,  to  Mann ;  "  and  with  good  people  has 
produced  the  apprehension  of  another  earthquake." 

From  Mackreth  the  property  passed  in  1784,  to  John 
Martindale,  and  in  1812,  to  Mr.  Raggett,  the  father  of 
the  present  proprietor.  The  original  form  of  the  house 
was  designed  by  James  Wyatt.  From  time  to  time, 
White's  underwent  various  alterations  and  additions.  In 
the  autumn  of  1850,  certain  improvements  being  thought 
necessary,  it  came  to  be  considered  that  the  front  was  of 
too  plain  a  character,  when  contrasted  with  the  many 
elegant  buildings  which  had  risen  up  around  it.  Mr. 
Lockyer  was  consulted  by  Mr.  Raggett  as  to  the  possi- 
bility of  improving  the  facade ;  and  under  his  direction, 
four  bas-reliefs,  representing  the  four  seasons,  which  oc- 
cupy the  place  of  four  sashes,  were  designed  by  Mr. 


BOODLE'S   CLUB.  ,  121 

George  Scharf,  jun.  The  interior  was  redecorated  by- 
Mr.  Morant.  The  Club,  which  is  at  this  time  limited 
to  500  members,  was  formerly  composed  of  the  high 
Tory  party,  but  though  Conservative  principles  may  pro- 
bably prevail,  it  has  now  ceased  to  be  a  political  club, 
and  may  rather  be  termed  i(  Aristocratic."  Several  of 
the  present  members  have  belonged  to  the  Club  upwards 
of  half  a  century,  and  the  ancestors  of  most  of  the  noble- 
men and  men  of  fashion  of  the  present  day  who  belong 
to  the  club  were  formerly  members  of  it. 

The  Club  has  given  magnificent  entertainments  in  our 
time.  On  June  20,  1814,  they  gave  a  ball  at  Burling- 
ton House  to  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  the  King  of  Prus- 
sia, and  the  allied  sovereigns  then  in  England ;  the  cost 
was  9849/.  25.  6d.  Three  weeks  after  this,  the  Club 
gave  to  the  Duke  of  Wellington  a  dinner/  which  cost 
2480/.  105.  9d. 


BOODLE'S  CLUB. 

This  Club,  originally  the  "  Savoir  vivre,"  which  with 
Brookes' s  and  White's,  forms  a  trio  of  nearly  coeval  date, 
and  each  of  which  takes  the  present  name  of  its  founder, 
is  No.  28,  St.  JamesVstreet.  In  its  early  records  it 
was  noted  for  its  costly  gaieties,  and  the  Heroic  Epistle 
to  Sir  William  Chambers,  1773,  commemorates  its  epi- 
curism : 

"  For  what  is  Nature  ?     Ring  her  changes  round, 
Her  three  flat  notes  are  water,  plants,  and  ground  ; 


122  CLUB   LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

Prolong  the  peal,  yet,  spite  of  all  your  clatter, 

The  tedious  chime  is  still  ground,  plants,  and  water  ; 

So,  when  some  John  his  dull  invention  racks, 

To  rival  Boodle's  dinners  or  Almack's, 

Three  uncouth  legs  of  mutton  shock  our  eyes, 

Three  roasted  geese,  three  buttered  apple-pies." 

In  the  following  year,  when  the  Clubs  vied  with  each 
other  in  giving  the  town  the  most  expensive  masquerades 
and  ridottos,  Gibbon  speaks  of  one  given  by  the  members 
of  Boodle's,  that  cost  2000  guineas.  Gibbon  was  early 
of  the  Clnb  ;  and,  "  it  must  be  remembered,  waddled  as 
well  as  warbled  here  when  he  exhibited  that  extraordi- 
nary person  which  is  said  to  have  convulsed  Lady  Shef- 
field with  laughter;  and  poured  forth  accents  mellifluous 
like  Plato's  from  that  still  more  extraordinary  mouth 
which  has  been  described  as  f  a  round  hole '  in  the  cen- 
tre of  his  face."* 

Boodle's  Club-house,  designed  by  Holland,  has  long 
been  eclipsed  by  the  more  pretentious  architecture  of  the 
Club  edifices  of  our  time  ;•  but  the  interior  arrangements 
are  well  planned.  Boodle's  is  chiefly  frequented  by 
country  gentlemen,  whose  status  has  been  thus  satirically 
insinuated  by  a  contemporary:  "  Every  Sir  John  belongs 
to  Boodle's — as  you  may  see,  for,  when  a  waiter  comes 
into  the  room  and  says  to  some  aged  student  of  the  Morn- 
ing Herald,  l  Sir  John,  your  servant  is  come,'  every  head 
is  mechanically  thrown  up  in  answer  to  the  address."' 

Among  the  Club  pictures  are  portraits  of  C.  J.  Fox,  and 
the  Duke  of  Devonshire.  Next  door,  at  No.  29.,  resided 
Gillray,  the  caricaturist,  who,  in  1815,  threw  himself 
from  an  upstairs  window  into  the  street,  and  died  in 
consequence. 

*  London  Clubs,  1853,  p.  51. 


123 


THE   BEEF-STEAK   SOCIETY. 

In  the  Spectator,  No.  9,  March  10,  1710-11,  we  read  : 
"  The  Beef-steak  and  October  Clubs  are  neither  of  them 
averse  to  eating  or  drinking,  if  we  may  form  a  judgment 
of  them  from  their  respective  titles."  This  passage  re- 
fers to  the  Beef- steak  Club,  founded  in  the  reign  of 
Queen  Anne;  and,  it  is  believed,  the  earliest  Club  with 
that  name.  Dr.  King,  in  his  Art  of  Cookery,  humbly 
inscribed  to  the  Beef-steak  Club,  1709,  has  these  lines : 

"  He  that  of  honour,  wit,  and  mirth  partakes, 
May  be  a  fit  companion  o'er  Beef-steaks  : 
His  name  may  be  to  future  times  enrolled 
In  Estcourt's  book,  whose  gridiron's  framed  with  gold." 

Estcourt,  the  actor,  was  made  Providore  of  the  Club ; 
and  for  a  mark  of  distinction  wore  their  badge,  which 
was  a  small  gridiron  of  gold,  hung  about  his  neck  with  a 
green  silk  ribbon.  Such  is  the  account  given  by  Chet- 
wood,  in  his  History  of  the  Stage,  1 749 ;  to  which  he 
adds  :  "  this  Club  was  composed  of  the  chief  wits  and 
great  men  of  the  nation."  The  gridiron,  it  will  be 
seen  hereafter,  was  assumed  as  its  badge,  by  the  "  Society 
of  Beef-steaks,  established  a  few  years  later :  they  call 
themselves  { the  Steaks/  and  abhor  the  notion  of  being 
thought  a  Club."  Though  the  National  Review,  heretical 
as  it  may  appear,  cannot  consent  to  dissever  the  Society 
from  the  earlier  Beef-steak  Club ;  which,  however,  would 
imply  that  Rich  and  Lambert  were  not  the  founders  of 
the  Society,  although  so  circumstantially  shown  to  be. 
Still,  the  stubbornness  of  facts  must  prevail. 

Dick  Estcourt  was  beloved  by  Steele,  who  thus  in- 
troduces him  in  the  Spectator 3  No.  358  :  "  The  best  man 


124  CLUB   LIFE  OF   LONDOX. 

that  I  know  of  for  heightening  the  real  gaiety  of  a  com- 
pany is  Estcourt,  whose  jovial  humour  diffuses  itself  from 
the  highest  person  at  an  entertainment  to  the  meanest 
waiter.  Merry  tales,  accompanied  with  apt  gestures  and 
lively  representations  of  circumstances  and  persons,  be- 
guile the  gravest  mind  into  a  consent  to  be  as  humor- 
ous as  himself.  Add  to  this,  that  when  a  man  is  in  his 
good  graces,  he  has  a  mimicry  that  does  not  debase  the 
person  he  represents,  but  which,  taken  from  the  gravity 
of  the  character,  adds  to  the  agreeableness  of  it." 

Then,  in  the  Spectator,  No.  264,  we  find  a  letter  from 
Sir  Roger  de  Coverley,  from  Coverley,"  To  Mr.  Estcourt, 
at  his  House  in  Covent  Garden,"  addressing  him  as  "  Old 
Comical  One,"  and  acknowledging  "  the  hogsheads  of 
neat  port  came  safe,"  and  hoping  next  term  to  help  fill 
Estcourt' s  Bumper  u  with  our  people  of  the  Club."  The 
Bumper  was  the  tavern  in  Covent  Garden,  which  Est- 
court opened  about  a  year  before  his  death.  In  this  qua- 
lity Parnell  speaks  of  him  in  the  beginning  of  one  of  his 
poems  : — 

"  Gay  Bacchus  liking  Estcourt's  wine 
A  noble  meal  bespoke  us. 
And  for  the  guests  that  were  to  dine 
Brought  Comus,  Love,  and  Jocus." 

The  Spectator  delivers  this  merited  eulogy  of  the  player, 
just  prior  to  his  benefit  at  the  theatre :  "  This  pleasant 
fellow  gives  one  some  idea  of  the  ancient  Pantomime, 
who  is  said  to  have  given  the  audience  in  dumb-show,  an 
exact  idea  of  any  character  or  passion,  or  an  intelligible 
relation  of  any  public  occurrence,  with  no  other  expres- 
sion than  that  of  his  looks  and  gestures.  If  all  who  have 
been  obliged  to  these  talents  in  Estcourt  will  be  at  Love 
for  Love  to-morrow  night,  they  will  but  pay  him  what 


THE    BEEF-STEAK    SOCIETY.  125 

they  owe  him,  at  so  easy  a  rate  as  being  present  at  a 
play  which  nobody  would  omit  seeing,  that  had,  or  had 
not,  ever  seen  it  before." 

Then,  in  the  Spectator,  No.  468,  August  27, 1712,  with 
what  touching  pathos  does  Steele  record  the  last  exit  of 
this  choice  spirit :  "  I  am  very  sorry  that  I  have  at  pre- 
sent a  circumstance  before  me  which  is  of  very  great  im- 
portance to  all  who  have  a  relish  for  gaiety,  wit,  mirth, 
or  humour  :  I  mean  the  death  of  poor  Dick  Estcourt.  I 
have  been  obliged  to  him  for  so  many  hours  of  jollity, 
that  it  is  but  a  small  recompense,  though  all  I  can  give 
him,  to  pass  a  moment  or  two  in  sadness  for  the  loss  of 
so  agreeable  a  man.  .  .  .  Poor  Estcourt  !  Let  the  vain 
and  proud  be  at  rest,  thou  wilt  no  more  disturb  their 
admiration  of  their  dear  selves ;  and  thou  art  no  longer 
to  drudge  in  raising  the  mirth  of  stupids,  who  know 
nothing  of  thy  merit,  for  thy  maintenance.".  Having 
spoken  of  him  ft  as  a  companion  and  a  man  qualified  for 
conversation," — his  fortune  exposing  him  to  an  obse- 
quiousness towards  the  worst  sort  of  company,  but  his 
excellent  qualities  rendering  him  capable  of  making  the 
best  figure  in  the  most  refined,  and  then  having  told 
of  his  maintaining  "  his  good  humour  with  a  counte- 
nance or  a  language  so  delightful,  without  offence  to  anv 
person  or  thing  upon  earth,  still  preserving  the  distance 
his  circumstances  obliged  him  to," — Steele  concludes 
with,  "  I  say,  I  have  seen  him  do  all  this  in  such  a 
charming  manner,  that  I  am  sure  none  of  those  I  hint 
at  will  read  this,  without  giving  him  some  sorrow  for 
their  abundant  mirth,  and  one  gush  of  tears  for  so  many 
bursts  of  laughter.  I  wish  it  were  any  honour  to  the 
pleasant  creature's  memory,  that  my  eyes  are  too  much 
suffused  to  let  me  go  on- "     We  agree  with  Leis^h 


126  CLUB   LIFE   OF  LONDOX. 

Hunt  that  Steele's  "  overfineness  of  nature  was  never 
more  beautifully  evinced  in  any  part  of  his  writings  than 
in  this  testimony  to  the  merits  of  poor  Dick  Estcourt." 
Ned  Ward,  in  his  Secret  History  of  Clubs,  first  edi- 
tion, 1709,  describes  the  Beef-steaks,  which  he  coarsely 
contrasts  with  "  the  refined  wits  of  the  Kit-Cat/'  This 
new  Society  griliado'd  beef  eaters  first  settled  their 
meeting  at  the  sign  of  the  Imperial  Phiz,  just  opposite 
to  a  famous  conventicle  in  the  Old  Jury,  a  publick-house 
that  has  been  long  eminent  for  the  true  British  quint- 
essence of  malt  and  hops,  and  a  broiled  sliver  off  the 
juicy  rump  of  a  fat,  well-fed  bullock.  .  .  .  This  noted 
boozing  ken,  above  all  others  in  the  City,  was  chosen 
out  by  the  Rump-steak  admirers,  as  the  fittest  mansion 
to  entertain  the  Society,  and  to  gratify  their  appetites 
with  that  particular  dainty  they  desired  to  be  distin- 
guished by.  [The  Club  met  at  the  place  appointed,  and 
chose  for  a  Prolocutor,  an  Irish  comedian.]  No  sooner 
had  they  confirmed  their  Hibernian  mimic  in  his  hon- 
ourable post,  but  to  distinguish  him  from  the  rest,  they 
made  him  a  Knight  of  St.  Lawrence,  and  hung  a  silver  (?) 
gridiron  about  his  neck,  as  a  badge  of  the  dignity  they 
had  conferred  upon  him,  that  when  he  sung  Pretty  Par- 
rot, he  might  thrum  upon  the  bars  of  his  new  instru- 
ment, and  mimic  a  haughty  Spaniard  serenading  his 
Donna  with  guitar  and  madrigal.  The  Zany,  as  proud 
of  his  new  fangle  as  a  German  mountebank  of  a  prince's 
medal,  when  he  was  thus  dignified  and  distinguished 
with  his  culinary  symbol  hanging  before  his  breast,  took 
the  highest  post  of  honour,  as  his  place  at  the  board, 
where,  as  soon  as  seated,  there  was  not  a  bar  in  the  silver 
kitchen-stuff  that  the  Society  had  presented  him  with, 
but   was   presently  handled  with  a  theatrical    pun,  or 


THE   BEEF-STEAK   SOCIETY.  127 

an  Irish  witticism.  .  .  .  Orders  were  dispatched  to  the 
superintendent  of  the  kitchen  to  provide  several  nice 
specimens  of  their  Beef-steak  cookery,  some  with  the 
flavour  of  a  shalot  or  onion ;  some  broiPd,  some  fry'd, 
some  stew'd,  some  toasted,  and  others  roasted,  that  every 
judicious  member  of  the  new  erected  Club  might  appeal 
to  his  palate,  and  from  thence  determine  whether  the 
house  they  had  chosen  for  their  rendezvous  truly  de- 
served that  public  fame  for  their  inimitable  management 
of  a  bovinary  sliver,  which  the  world  had  given  them.  .  . 
When  they  had  moderately  supplied  their  beef  stomachs, 
they  were  all  highly  satisfy'd  with  the  choice  they  had 
made,  and  from  that  time  resolved  to  repeat  their  meet- 
ing once  a  week  in  the  same  place."  [At  the  next 
meeting  the  constitution  and  bye-laws  of  the  new  little 
commonwealth  were  settled;  and  for  the  further  encou- 
ragement of  wit  and  pleasantry  throughout  the  whole 
Society,  there  was  provided  a  very  voluminous  paper 
book,  "about  as  thick  as  a  bale  of  Dutch  linen,  into 
which  were  to  be  entered  every  witty  saying  that  should 
be  spoke  in  the  Society : "  this  nearly  proved  a  failure; 
but  Ward  gives  a  taste  of  the  performances  by  reciting 
some  that  had  been  stolen  out  of  their  Journal  by  a  false 
Brother ;  here  is  one  : — ] 

ON    AN    OX. 

"  Most  noble  creature  of  the  horned  race, 
Who  labours  at  the  plough  to  earn  thy  grass, 
And  yielding  to  the  yoke,  shows  man  the  way") 
To  bear  his  servile  chains,  and  to  obey  r 

More  haughty  tyrants,  who  usurp  the  sway.     ) 
Thy  sturdy  sinews  till  the  farmer's  grounds, 
To  thee  ihe  grazier  owes  his  hoarded  pounds  : 
5Tis  by  thy  labour,  we  abound  in  malt, 
Whose  powerful  juice  the  meaner  slaves  exalt ; 


128  CLUB  LIFE  OF   LONDON. 

And  when  grown  fat,  and  fit  to  be  devour'd, 

The  pole-ax  frees  thee  from  the  teazing  goard  : 

Thus  cruel  man,  to  recompense  thy  pains. 

First  works  thee  hard,  and  then  beats  out  thy  brains." 

Ward  is  very  hard  upon  the  Kit- Cat  community,  and 
tells  us  that  the  Beef-steaks,  "  like  true  Britons,  to  show 
their  resentment  in  contempt  of  Kit-Cat  pies,  very  justly 
gave  the  preference  to  a  rump-steak,  most  wisely  agree- 
ing that  the  venerable  word,  beef,  gave  a  more  masculine 
grace,  and  sounded  better  in  the  title  of  a  true  English 
Club,  than  either  Pies  or  Kit- Cat ;  and  that  a  gridiron, 
which  has  the  honour  to  be  made  the  badge  of  a  Saint's 
martyrdom,  was  a  nobler  symbol  of  their  Christian  in- 
tegrity, than  two  or  three  stars  or  garters ;  who  learn- 
edly recollecting  how  great  an  affinity  the  word  bull  has 
to  beef,  they  thought  it  very  consistent  with  the  consti- 
tution of  their  Society,  instead  of  a  Welsh  to  have  a 
Hibernian  secretary.  Being  thus  fixed  to  the  great 
honour  of  a  little  alehouse,  next  door  to  the  Church,  and 
opposite  to  the  Meeting,  they  continued  to  meet  for  some 
time ;  till  their  fame  spreading  over  all  the  town,  and 
reaching  the  ears  of  the  great  boys  and  little  boys,  as 
they  came  in  the  evening  from  Merchant  Taylors'  School, 
they  could  not  forbear  hollowing  as  they  passed  the  door ; 
and  being  acquainted  with"  their  nights  of  meeting,  they 
seldom  failed,  when  the  divan  was  sitting,  of  compli- 
menting their  ears  with  '  Huzza  !  Beef-steak  V — that 
they  might  know  from  thence,  how  much  they  were  re- 
verenced for  men  of  learning  by  the  very  school-boys." 

u  But  the  modest  Club,"  says  Ward,  "  not  affecting 
popularity,  and  choosing  rather  to  be  deaf  to  all  public 
ilatteries,  thought  it  an  act  of  prudence  to  adjourn  from 
thence  into  a  place  of  obscurity,  where  they  might  feast 


THE   BEEF-STEAK    SOCIETY.  129 

knuckle-deep  in  luscious  gravy,  and  enjoy  themselves  free 
from  the  noisy  addresses  of  the  young  scholastic  rabble ; 
so  that  now,  whether  they  have  healed  the  breach,  and 
are  again  returned  into  the  Kit- Cat  community,  from 
whence  it  is  believed,  upon  some  disgust,  they  at  first 
separated,  or  whether,  like  the  Calves'  Head  Club  they 
remove  from  place  to  place,  to  prevent  discovery,  I  sha'n't 
presume  to  determine ;  but  at  the  present,  like  Oates's 
army  of  pilgrims,  in  the  time  of  the  plot,  though  they 
are  much  talked  of  they  are  difficult  to  be  found."  The 
"  Secret  history  "  concludes  with  an  address  to  the  Club, 
from  which  these  are  specimen  lines  : 

"  Such  strenuous  lines,  so  cheering,  soft,  and  sweet, 
That  daily  flow  from  your  conjunctive  wit, 
Proclaim  the  power  of  Beef,  that  noble  meat. 
Your  tuneful  songs  such  deep  impression  make, 
And  of  such  awful,  beauteous  strength  partake, 
Each  stanza  seems  an  ox,  each  line  a  steak. 
As  if  the  rump  in  slices,  broil'd  or  stew'd 
In  its  own  gravy,  till  divinely  good, 
Turned  all  to  powerful  wit,  as  soon  as  chew'd. 

To  grind  thy  gravy  out  their  jaws  employ, 
O'er  heaps  of  reeking  steaks  express  their  joy, 
And  sing  of  Beef  as  Homer  did  of  Troy." 

We  shall  now  more  closely  examine  the  origin  and 
history  of  the  Sublime  Society  of  the  Steaks,  which  has 
its  pedigree,  its  ancestry,  and  its  title-deeds.  The  grid- 
iron of  1735  is  the  real  gridiron  on  which  its  first  steak 
was  broiled.  Henry  Rich  (Lun,  the  first  Harlequin) 
was  the  founder,  to  whom  Garrick  thus  alludes  in  a  pro- 
logue to  the  Irish  experiment  of  a  speaking  pantomime  : 

"  When  Lun  appeared,  with  matchless  art  and  whim, 
He  gave  the  power  of  speech  to  every  limb. 

VOL.  I.  K 


130  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON. 

Though  masked  and  mute  conveyed  his  true  intent, 
And  told  in  frolic  gestures  what  he  meant ; 
But  now  the  motley  coat  and  sword  of  wood, 
Require  a  tongue  to  make  them  understood." 

There  is  a  letter  extant,  written  by  Nixon,  the  trea- 
surer, probably  to  some  artist,  granting  permission  by 
the  Beef-steak  Society  "  to  copy  the  original  gridiron,  and 
I  have  wrote  on  the  other  side  of  this  sheet  a  note  to 
Mr.  White,  at  the  Bedford,  to  introduce  you  to  our 
room  for  the  purpose  making  your  drawing.  The  first 
spare  moment  I  can  take  from  my  business  shall  be  em- 
ployed in  making  a  short  statement  of  the  rise  and 
establishment  of  the  Beef-steak  Society." 

Rich,  in  1732,  left  the  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields  Theatre 
for  Covent  Garden,  the  success  of  the  Beggars'  Opera 
having  "  made  Gay  rich  and  Rich  gay."  He  was  ac- 
customed to  arrange  the  comic  business  and  construct 
the  models  of  tricks  for  his  pantomimes  in  his  private 
room  at  Covent  Garden.  Here  resorted  men  of  rank 
and  wit,  for  Rich's  colloquial  oddities  were  much  re- 
lished. Thither  came  Mordaunt,  Earl  of  Peterborough, 
the  friend  of  Pope,  and  thus  commemorated  by  Swift : 

"  Mordanto  fills  the  trump  of  fame  ; 
The  Christian  world  his  death  proclaim ; 
And  prints  are  crowded  with  his  name. 
In  journeys  he  outrides  the  post ; 
Sits  up  till  midnight  with  his  host ; 
Talks  politics,  and  gives  the  toast, 
A  skeleton  in  outward  figure  ; 
His  meagre  corpse,  though  full  of  vigour, 
Would  halt  behind  him,  were  it  bigger, 
So  wonderful  his  expedition  ; 
When  you  have  not  the  least  suspicion, 
He's  with  you,  like  an  apparition  : 


THE   BEEF-STEAK   SOCIETY.  131 

Shines  in  all  climates  like  a  star ; 
In  senates  bold,  and  fierce  in  war ; 
A  land-commandant,  and  a  tar." 

He  was  then  advanced  in  years,  and  one  afternoon 
stayed,  talking  with  Rich  about  his  tricks  and  transforma- 
tions, and  listening  to  his  agreeable  talk,  until  Rich's  din- 
ner-hour, two  o'clock,  had  arrived.  In  all  these  colloquies 
with  his  visitors,  whatever  their  rank,  Rich  never  neg- 
lected his  art.  Upon  one  occasion,  accident  having  de- 
tained the  Earl's  coach  later  than  usual,  he  found 
Rich's  chat  so  agreeable,  that  he  was  quite  unconscious 
it  was  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon ;  when  he  observed 
Rich  spreading  a  cloth,  then  coaxing  his  fire  into  a  clear 
cooking  flame,  and  proceeding,  with  great  gravitjr,  to 
cook  his  own  beef-steak  on  his  own  gridiron.  The  steak 
sent  up  a  most  inviting  incense,  and  my  Lord  could  not 
resist  Rich's  invitation  to  partake  of  it,  A  further 
supply  was  sent  for ;  and  a  bottle  or  two  of  good  wine 
from  a  neighbouring  tavern  prolonged  their  enjoyment 
to  a  late  hour.  But  so  delighted  was  the  old  Peer  with 
the  entertainment,  that,  on  going  away,  he  proposed 
renewing  it  at  the  same  place  and  hour,  on  the  Saturday 
following.  He  was  punctual  to  his  engagement,  and 
brought  with  him  three  or  four  friends,  "  men  of  wit 
and  pleasure  about  town,"  as  M.  Bouges  would  call 
them ;  and  so  truly  festive  was  the  meeting  that  it  was 
proposed  a  Saturday's  club  should  be  held  there,  whilst 
the  town  remained  full.  A  sumptuary  law,  even  at  this 
early  period  of  the  Society,  restricted  the  bill  of  fare  to 
beef-steaks,  and  the  beverage  to  port-wine  and  punch. 

However,  the  origin  of  the  Society  is  related  with  a 
difference.  Edwards,  in  his  Anecdotes  of  Painting,  re- 
lates that  Lambert,  many  years  principal  scene-painter 

k  2 


]32  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON. 

at  Covent  Garden  Theatre,  received,  in  his  painting- 
room,  persons  of  rank  and  talent;  where,  as  he  could 
not  leave  for  dinner,  he  frequently  was  content  with  a 
steak,  which  he  himself  broiled  upon  the  fire  in  his 
room.  Sometimes  the  visitors  partook  of  the  hasty- 
meal,  and  out  of  this  practice  grew  the  Beef-steak  So- 
ciety, and  the  assembling  in  the  painting-room.  The 
members  were  afterwards  accommodated  with  a  room  in 
the  playhouse ;  and  when  the  Theatre  was  rebuilt,  the 
place  of  meeting  was  changed  to  the  Shakespeare  Ta- 
vern, where  was  the  portrait  of  Lambert,  painted  by 
Hudson,  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds's  master. 

In  the  Connoisseur ,  June  6th,  1754,  we  read  of  the 
Society,  "  composed  of  the  most  ingenious  artists  in  the 
Kingdom,"  meeting  "  every  Saturday  in  a  noble  room 
at  the  top  of  Covent  Garden  Theatre,"  and  never  suffer- 
ing "  any  diet  except  Beef- steaks  to  appear.  These, 
indeed,  are  most  glorious  examples  :  but  what,  alas  !  are 
the  weak  endeavours  of  a  few  to  oppose  the  daily  inroads 
of  fricassees  and  soup-maigres  ?" 

However,  the  apartments  in  the  theatre  appropriated 
to  the  Society  varied.  Thus,  we  read  of  a  painting- 
room  even  with  the  stage  over  the  kitchen,  which  was 
under  part  of  the  stage  nearest  Bow-street.  At  one 
period,  the  Society  dined  in  a  small  room  over  the  pas- 
sage of  the  theatre.  The  steaks  were  dressed  in  the 
same  room,  and  when  thev  found  it  too  hot,  a  curtain 
was  drawn  between  the  company  and  the  fire. 

We  shall  now  glance  at  the  celebrities  who  came  to 
the  painting-room  in  the  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields  theatre, 
and  the  later  locations  of  the  Club,  in  Covent  Garden.  To 
the  former  came  Hogarth  and  his  father-in-law,  Sir  James 
Thornhill,  stimulated  by  their  love  of  the  painter's  art, 
and  the  equally  potent  charm  of  conviviality. 


THE    BEEF-STEAK   SOCIETY.  133 

Churchill  was  introduced  to  the  Steaks  by  his  friend 
Wilkes ;  but  his  irregularities  were  too  much  for  the 
Society,  which  was  by  no  means  particular ;  his  deser- 
tion of  his  wife  brought  a  hornets'  swarm  about  him, 
so  that  he  soon  resigned,  to  avoid  the  disgrace  of  expul- 
sion. Churchill  attributed  this  flinging  of  the  first  stone 
to  Lord  Sandwich ;  he  never  forgave  the  peccant  Peer, 
but  put  him  into  the  pillory  of  his  fierce  satire,  which 
has  outlived  most  of  his  other  writings,  and  here  it  is  : 

"  From  his  youth  upwards  to  the  present  day, 
When  vices  more  than  years  have  made  him  grey ; 
When  riotous  excess  with  wasteful  hand 
Shakes  life's  frail  glass,  and  hastes  each  ebbing  sand ; 
Unmindful  from  what  stock  he  drew  his  birth, 
Untainted  with  one  deed  of  real  worth — 
Lothario,  holding  honour  at  no  price, 
Folly  to  folly,  added  vice  to  vice, 
Wrought  sin  with  greediness,  and  courted  shame 
With  greater  zeal  than  good  men  seek  for  fame." 

Churchill,  in  a  letter  to  Wilkes,  says,  "  Your  friends 
at  the  Beef-steak  inquired  after  you  last  Saturday  with 
the  greatest  zeal,  and  it  gave  me  no  small  pleasure  that 
I  was  the  person  of  whom  the  inquiry  was  made." 
Charles  Price  was  allowed  to  be  one  of  the  most  witty 
of  the  Society,  and  it  is  related  that  he  and  Churchill 
kept  the  table  in  a  roar. 

Formerly,  the  members  wore  a  blue  coat,  with  red 
cape  and  cuffs ;  buttons  with  the  initials  B.  S. ;  and 
behind  the  Presidents  chair  was  placed  the  Society^s 
halbert,  which,  with  the  gridiron,  was  found  among  the 
rubbish  after  the  Covent  Garden  fire. 

Mr.  Justice  Welsh  was  frequently  chairman  at  the 
Beef- steak  dinner.     Mrs.  Nollekens,  his  daughter,  ac- 


134  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON. 

knowledges  that  she  often  dressed  a  hat  for  the  purpose, 
with  ribbons  similar  to  those  worn  by  the  yeomen  of  the 
guard.  The  Justice  was  a  loyal  man,  but  discontinued 
his  membership  when  Wilkes  joined  the  Society  ;  though 
the  latter  was  the  man  at  the  Steaks. 

To  the  Steaks  Wilkes  sent  a  copy  of  his  infamous 
Essay  on  Women,  first  printed  for  private  circulation; 
for  which  Lord  Sandwich — Jemmy  Twitcher — himself, 
as  we  have  seen,  a  member  of  the  Society — moved  in 
the  House  of  the  Lords  that  Wilkes  should  be  taken 
into  custody ;  a  piece  of  treason  as  the  act  of  one  bro- 
ther of  the  Steaks  against  another,  fouler  than  even  the 
trick  of  "dirty  Kidgell,"  the  parson,  who,  as  a  friend  of 
the  author,  got  a  copy  of  the  Essay  from  the  printer, 
and  then  felt  it  his  duty  to  denounce  the  publication ; 
he  had  been  encouraged  to  inform  against  Wilkes's 
Essay  by  the  Earl  of  March,  afterwards  Duke  of  Queens- 
berry.  However,  Jemmy  Twitcher  himself  was  expelled 
by  the  Steaks  the  same  year  he  assailed  Wilkes  for  the 
Essay ;  the  grossness  and  blasphemy  of  the  poem  dis- 
gusted the  Society ;  and  Wilkes  never  dined  there  after 
1763;  yet,  when  he  went  to  France,  they  hypocritically 
made  him  an  honorary  member. 

Garrick  was  an  honoured  member  of  the  Steaks; 
though  he  did  not  affect  Clubs.  The  Society  possess  a 
hat  and  sword  which  David  wore,  probably  on  the  night 
when  he  stayed  so  long  with  the  Steaks,  and  had 
to  play  Ranger,  at  Drury-laue.  The  pit  grew  restless, 
the  gallery  bawled  "  Manager,  manager  !"  Garrick  had 
been  sent  for  to  Coven t  Garden,  where  the  Steaks  then 
dined.  Carriages  blocked  up  Russell-street,  and  he  had 
to  thread  his  way  between  them  ;  as  he  came  panting 
into  the  theatre,  "  I  think,  David,"  said  Ford,  one  of 


THE   BEEF-STEAK   SOCIETY.  135 

the  anxious  patentees,  "  considering  the  stake  you  and 
I  have  in  this  house,  you  might  pay  more  attention 
to  the  business." — "  True,  my  good  friend,"  returned 
Garrick,  "  but  I  was  thinking  of  my  steak  in  the  other 
house." 

Many  a  reconciliation  of  parted  friends  has  taken 
place  at  this  Club.  Peake,  in  his  Memoirs  of  the  Col- 
man  Family,  thus  refers  to  a  reconciliation  between 
Garrick  and  Colman  the  elder,  through  the  Sublime 
Society : — 

"Whether  Mr.  Clutterbuck  or  other  friends  inter- 
fered to  reconcile  the  two  dramatists,  or  whether  the 
considerations  of  mutual  interest  may  not  in  a  great 
measure  have  aided  in  healing  the  breach  between  Col- 
man and  Garrick,  is  not  precisely  to  be  determined ; 
but  it  would  appear,  from  the  subjoined  short  note  from 
Garrick,  that  Colman  must  have  made  some  overture  to 
him. 

"  '  My  dear  Colman, — Becket  has  been  with  me,  and 
tells  me  of  your  friendly  intentions  towards  me.  I 
should  have  been  beforehand  with  you,  had  I  not  been 
ill  with  the  beefsteaks  and  arrack  punch  last  Saturday, 
and  was  obliged  to  leave  the  play-house. 

"  '  He  that  parts  us  shall  bring  a  brand  from  Heav'n, 
And  fire  us  hence.' 


(( t 


Ever  yours,  old  and  new  friend, 

V  D.  Garrick/" 


The  beef-steaks,  arrack  punch,  and  Saturday,  all 
savour  very  strongly  of  a  visit  to  the  Sublime  Society 
held  at  that  period  in  Covent  Garden  Theatre,  where 
many  a  clever  fellow  has  had  his  diaphragm  disordered, 
before  that  time  and  since.     Whoever  has  had  the  plea- 


136  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON. 

sure  to  join  their  convivial  board ;  to  witness  the  never- 
failing  good- humour  which  predominates  there;  to  listen 
to  the  merry  songs,  and  to  the  sparkling  repartee ;  and 
to  experience  the  hearty  welcome  and  marked  attention 
paid  to  visitors,  could  never  have  cause  to  lament,  as 
Garrick  has  done,  a  trifling  illness  the  following  day. 
There  must  have  been  originally  a  wise  and  simple  code 
of  laws,  which  could  have  held  together  a  convivial 
meeting  for  so  lengthened  a  period. 

Garrick  had  no  slight  tincture  of  vanity,  and  was  fond 
of  accusing  himself,  in  the  Chesterfield  phrase,  of  the 
cardinal  virtues.  Having  remarked  at  the  Steaks  that 
he  had  so  large  a  mass  of  manuscript  plays  submitted  to 
him,  that  they  were  constantly  liable  to  be  mislaid,  he 
observed  that,  unpleasant  as  it  was  to  reject  an  author's 
piece,  it  was  an  affront  to  his  feelings  if  it  could  not  be 
instantly  found ;  and  that  for  this  reason  he  made  a 
point  of  ticketing  and  labelling  the  play  that  was  to  be 
returned,  that  it  might  be  forthcoming  at  a  moment. 
"A  fig  for  your  hypocrisy,"  exclaimed  Murphy  across 
the  table ;  "  you  know,  Davy,  you  mislaid  my  tragedy 
two  months  ago,  and  I  make  no  doubt  you  have  lost  it." 
— "  Yes,"  replied  Garrick ;  "  but  you  forgot,  you  un- 
grateful dog,  that  I  offered  you  more  than  its  value,  for 
you  might  have  had  two  manuscript  farces  in  its  stead." 
This  is  the  right  paternity  of  an  anecdote  often  told  of 
other  parties. 

Jack  Richards,  a  well-known  presbyter  of  the  Society, 
unless  when  the  "  fell  serjeant,"  the  gout,  had  arrested 
him,  never  absented  himself  from  its  board.  He  was 
recorder,  and  there  is  nothing  in  comedy  equal  to  his 
passing  sentence  on  those  who  had  offended  against  the 
rules  and  observances  of  the  Society.     Having  put  on 


THE   BEEF-STEAK  SOCIETY.  137 

Garrick's  hat,  he  proceeded  to  inflict  a  long,  wordy- 
harangue  upon  the  culprit,  who  often  endeavoured  most 
unavailingly  to  stop  him.  Nor  was  it  possible  to  see 
when  he  meant  to  stop.  But  the  imperturbable  gravity 
with  which  Jack  performed  his  office,  and  the  fruitless 
writhings  of  the  luckless  being  on  whom  the  shower  of 
his  rhetoric  was  discharged,  constituted  the  amusement 
of  the  scene.  There  was  no  subject  upon  which  Jack's 
exuberance  of  talk  failed  him  ;  yet,  in  that  stream  of 
talk  there  was  never  mingled  one  drop  of  malignity,  nor 
of  unkind  censure  upon  the  erring  or  unhappy.  He 
would  as  soon  adulterate  his  glass  of  port- wine  with 
water,  as  dash  that  honest  though  incessant  prattle  with 
one  malevolent  or  ungenerous  remark. 

William  Linley,  the  brother  of  Mrs.  Sheridan, 
charmed  the  Society  with  his  pure,  simple  English 
song  :  in  a  melody  of  Arne's,  or  of  Jackson's  of  Exeter, 
or  a  simple  air  of  his  father's,  he  excelled  to  admiration, 
— faithful  to  the  characteristic  chastity  of  the  style  of 
singing  peculiar  to  the  Linley  family.  Linley  had  not 
what  is  called  a  fine  voice,  and  port-wine  and  late  nights 
did  not  improve  his  organ;  but  you  forgot  the  de- 
ficiencies of  his  power,  in  the  spirit  and  taste  of  his 
manner.  He  wrote  a  novel  in  three  volumes,  which  was 
so  schooled  by  the  Steaks  that  he  wrote  no  more :  when 
the  agony  of  wounded  authorship  was  over,  he  used  to 
exclaim  to  his  tormentors  : — 

"  This  is  no  flattery  ;  these  are  the  counsellors 
That  feelingly  persuade  me  what  I  am." 

His  merciless  Zoilus  brought  a  volume  of  the  work  in 
his  pocket,  and  read  a  passage  of  it  aloud.  Yet,  Linley 
never  betrayed  the  irritable  sulkiness  of  a  roasted  author, 


138  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON. 

but  took  the  pleasantries  that  played  around  him  with 
imperturbable  good-humour :  he  laughed  heartily  at  his 
own  platitudes,  and  thus  the  very  martyr  of  the  joke 
became  its  auxiliary.  Linley  is  said  to  have  furnished 
Moore,  for  his  Life  of  Sheridan,  with  the  common-place 
books  in  which  his  brother-in-law  was  wont  to  deposit 
his  dramatic  sketches,  and  to  bottle  up  the  jokes  he  had 
collected  for  future  use ;  but  many  pleasantries  of  Sheri- 
dan were  deeply  engraved  on  his  recollection  because 
they  had  been  practised  upon  himself,  or  upon  his 
brother  Hozy  (as  Sheridan  called  him),  who  was  an  un- 
failing butt,  when  he  was  disposed  to  amuse  himself 
with  a  practical  jest. 

Another  excellent  brother  was  Dick  Wilson,  whose 
volcanic  complexion  had  for  many  years  been  assuming 
deeper  and  deeper  tints  of  carnation  over  the  port- wine 
of  the  Society.  Dick  was  a  wealthy  solicitor,  and  many 
years  Lord  Ehlon's  "port-wine-loving  secretary."  His 
fortunes  were  very  singular.  He  was  first  steward  and 
solicitor,  and  afterwards  residuary  legatee,  of  Lord  Ched- 
worth.  He  is  said  to  have  owed  the  favour  of  this 
eccentric  nobleman  to  the  legal  acumen  he  displayed  at 
a  Richmond  water-party.  A  pleasant  lawn,  under  a 
spreading  beech-tree  in  one  of  Mr.  Cambridge's  mea- 
dows, was  selected  for  the  dinner ;  but  on  pulling  to  the 
shore,  behold  a  board  in  the  tree  proclaiming,  "  All  per- 
sons landing  and  dining  here  will  be  prosecuted  accord- 
ing to  law."  Dick  Wilson  contended  that  the  prohi- 
bition clearly  applied  only  to  the  joint  act  of  "  landing 
and  dining  "  at  the  particular  spot.  If  the  party  landed 
a  few  yards  lower  down,  and  then  dined  under  the  tree, 
only  one  member  of  the  condition  would  be  broken ; 
which  would  be  no  legal  infringement,  as  the  prohibition 


THE  BEEF-STEAK   SOCIETY.  139 

— being  of  two  acts,  linked  by  a  copulative — was  not 
severable.  This  astute  argument  carried  the  day.  The 
party  dined  under  Mr.  Cambridge's  beech-tree,  and,  it 
is  presumed,  were  not  "prosecuted  according  to  law."  At 
all  events,  Lord  Chedworth,  who  was  one  of  the  diners, 
was  so  charmed  with  Dick's  ready  application  of  his  law 
to  practice,  that  he  committed  to  him  the  management 
of  his  large  and  accumulating  property. 

Dick  stood  the  fire  of  the  Steaks  with  good  humour; 
but  he  was  sometimes  unmercifully  roasted.  He  had 
just  returned  from  Paris,  when  Arnold,  with  great  dex- 
terity, drew  him  into  some  Parisian  details,  with  great 
glee ;  for  Dick  was  entirely  innocent  of  the  French  lan- 
guage. Thus,  in  enumerating  the  dishes  at  a  French 
table,  he  thought  the  boulevards  delicious ;  when  Cobbe 
called  out,  "  Dick,  it  was  well  they  did  not  serve  you  at 
the  Palais  Royal  for  sauce  to  your  boulevards."  The 
riz  de  veau  he  called  a  rendezvous ;  and  he  could  not 
bear  partridges  served  up  in  shoes ;  and  once,  intending 
to  ask  for  a  pheasant,  he  desired  the  waiter  to  bring  him 
a  paysanne  !  Yet,  Dick  was  shrewd  :  calling  one  day 
upon  Cobbe  at  the  India  House,  Dick  was  left  to  him- 
self for  a  few  minutes,  when  he  was  found  by  Cobbe,  on 
his  return,  exploring  a  map  of  Asia  suspended  on  the 
wall :  he  was  measuring  the  scale  of  it  with  compasses, 
and  then  applying  them  to  a  large  tiger,  which  the  artist 
had  introduced  as  one  of  the  animals  of  the  country. 
"  By  heavens,  Cobbe/'  exclaimed  Dick,  "  I  should  never 
have  believed  it !  Surely,  it  must  be  a  mistake.  Ob- 
serve now — here,"  pointing  to  the  tiger,  u  here  is  a  tiger 
that  measures  two-and-twenty  leagues.  By  heavens,  it 
is  scarcely  credible." 

Another  of  the  noteworthy  Steaks  was  "  Old  Walsh," 


110  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON. 

commonly  called  "  the  Gentle  Shepherd :"  he  began  life 
as  a  servant  of  the  celebrated  Lord  Chesterfield,  and 
accompanied  his  natural  son,  Philip  Stanhope,  on  the 
grand  tour,  as  valet :  after  this  he  was  made  a  Queen's 
messenger,  and  subsequently  a  Commissioner  of  Cus- 
toms; he  was  a  good-natured  butt  for  the  Society's 
jokes.  Rowland  Stephenson,  the  banker,  was  another 
Beef-Steaker,  then  respected  for  his  clear  head  and 
warm  heart,  years  before  he  became  branded  as  a  forger. 
At  the  same  table  was  a  capitalist  of  very  high  cha- 
racter— William  Joseph  Danison,  who  sat  many  years  in 
Parliament  for  Surrey,  and  died  a  millionnaire :  he  was  a 
man  of  cultivated  tastes,  and  long  enjoyed  the  circle  of 
the  Steaks. 

We  have  seen  how  the  corner-stone  of  the  sublime  So- 
ciety was  laid.  The  gridiron  upon  which  Rich  had  broiled 
his  solitary  steak,  being  insufficient  in  a  short  time  for 
the  supernumerary  guests,  the  gridiron  was  enshrined  as 
one  of  the  tutelary  and  household  emblems  of  the  Club. 
Fortunately,  it  escaped  the  fire  which  consumed  Covent 
Garden  Theatre  in  1808,  when  the  valuable  stock  of 
wine  of  the  Club  shared  the  fate  of  the  building;  but 
the  gridiron  was  saved.  "  In  that  fire,  alas  ! "  says  the 
author  of  The  Clubs  of  London,  "perished  the  original 
archives  of  the  Society.  The  lovers  of  wit  and  pleasantry 
have  much  to  deplore  in  that  loss,  inasmuch  as  not  only 
the  names  of  many  of  the  early  members  are  irretrievably 
gone,  but  what  is  more  to  be  regretted,  some  of  their 
happiest  effusions ;  for  it  was  then  customary  to  register 
in  the  weekly  records  anything  of  striking  excellence 
that  had  been  hit  off  in  the  course  of  the  evening.  This, 
however,  is  certain,  that  the  Beaf-steaks,  from  its  foun- 
dation to  the  present  hour,  has  been — 


THE   BEEF-STEAK   SOCIETY.  141 

"  *  native  to  famous  wits 
Or  hospitable.' 

That,  as  guests  or  members,  persons  distinguished  for 
rank,  and  social  and  convivial  powers,  have,  through 
successive  generations,  been  seated  at  its  festive  board — 
Bubb  Dodington,  Aaron  Hill;  Hoadley,  author  of  The 
Suspicious  Husband,  and  Leonidas  Glover,  are  only  a  few 
names  snatched  from  its  early  list.  Sir  Peere  Williams, 
a  gentleman  of  high  birth  and  fashion,  who  had  already 
shone  in  Parliament,  was  of  the  Club.  Then  came  the 
days  of  Lord  Sandwich,  Wilkes,  Bonnell  Thornton, 
Arthur  Murphy,  Churchill,  and  Tickell.  This  is  generally 
quoted  as  the  golden  period  of  the  Society."  Then  there 
were  the  Colmans  and  Garrick;  and  John  Beard,  the 
singer,  was  president  of  the  Club  in  1784. 

The  number  of  the  Steaks  was  increased  from  twenty- 
four  to  twenty-five,  in  1785,  to  admit  the  Prince  of 
Wales,  an  event  of  sufficient  moment  to  find  record  in 
the  Annual  Register  of  the  year :  "  On  Saturday,  the 
14th  of  May,  the  Prince  of  Wales  was  admitted  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Beaf-steak  Club.  His  Royal  Highness  having 
signified  his  wish  of  belonging  to  that  Society,  and  there 
not  being  a  vacancy,  it  was  proposed  to  make  him  an 
honorary  member;  but  that  being  declined  by  His 
Royal  Highness,  it  was  agreed  to  increase  the  number 
from  twenty-four  to  twenty- five,  in  consequence  of  which 
His  Royal  Highness  was  unanimously  elected.  The 
Beaf-steak  Club  has  been  instituted  just  fifty  years,  and 
consists  of  some  of  the  most  classical  and  sprightly  wits 
in  the  Kingdom."  It  is  curious  to  find  the  Society 
here  termed  a  Club,  contrary  to  its  desire,  for  it  stickled 
much  for  the  distinction. 

Arthur  Murphy,  the  dramatist,  John   Kemble,  the 


142  CLUB   LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

Dukes  of  Clarence  and  of  Sussex,  were  also  of  the  Steaks: 
these  princes  were  both  attached  to  the  theatre ;  the 
latter  to  one  of  its  brightest  ornaments,  Dorothy  Jordan. 

Charles,  Duke  of  Norfolk,  was  another  celebrity  of 
the  Steaks,  and  frequently  met  here  the  Prince  of  Wales. 
The  Duke  was  a  great  gourmand,  and,  it  is  said,  used  to 
eat  his  dish  of  fish  at  a  neighbouring  tavern — the  Piazza, 
or  the  Grand — and  then  join  the  Steaks.  His  fidus 
Achates  was  Charles  Morris,  the  laureate-lyrist  of  the 
Steaks.  Their  attachment  was  unswerving,  notwith- 
standing it  has  been  impeached.  The  poet  kept  better 
hours  than  his  ducal  friend  :  one  evening,  Morris  having 
left  the  dinner-table  early,  a  friend  gave  some  significant 
hints  as  to  the  improvement  of  Morris's  fortunes :  the 
Duke  grew  generous  over  his  wine,  and  promised ;  the 
performance  came,  and  Morris  lived  to  the  age  of  ninety- 
three,  to  enjoy  the  realization. 

The  Duke  took  the  chair  when  the  cloth  was  removed. 

It  was  a  place  of  dignity,  elevated  some  steps  above  the 

table,  and  decorated  with  the  insignia  of  the  Society, 

amongst  which   was  suspended   Garrick's    Ranger  hat. 

As  the  clock  struck  five,  a  curtain  drew  up,  discovering 

the  kitchen,   in   which  the  cooks  were  seen  at  work, 

through  a  sort  of  grating,  with  this  inscription  from 

Macbeth : — 

"If  it  were  done,  when  'tis  done,  then  'twere  well 
It  were  done  quickly." 

The  steaks  themselves  were  in  the  finest  order,  and 
in  devouring  them  no  one  surpassed  His  Grace  of  Nor- 
folk :  two  or  three  steaks,  fragrant  from  the  gridiron, 
vanished,  and  when  his  labours  were  thought  to  be  over, 
he  might  be  seen  rubbing  a  clean  plate  with  a  shalot 
for  the  reception  of  another.     A  pause  of  ten  minutes 


THE   BEEF-STEAK   SOCIETY.  143 

ensued,  and  His  Grace  rested  upon  his  knife  and  fork : 
he  was  tarrying  for  a  steak  from  the  middle  of  the  rump 
of  beef,  where  lurks  a  fifth  essence,  the  perfect  ideal  of 
tenderness  and  flavour.  The  Duke  was  an  enormous 
eater.  He  would  often  eat  between  three  and  four 
pounds  of  beaf-steak;  and  after  that  take  a  Spanish 
onion  and  beet-root,  chop  them  together  with  oil  and 
vinegar,  and  eat  them.  After  dinner,  the  Duke  was 
ceremoniously  ushered  to  the  chair,  and  invested  with 
an  orange- coloured  ribbon,  to  which  a  small  silver  grid- 
iron* was  appended.  In  the  chair  he  comported  himself 
with  urbanity  and  good  humour.  Usually,  the  Presi- 
dent was  the  target,  at  which  all  the  jests  and  witticisms 
were  fired,  but  moderately;  for  though  a  characteristic 
equality  reigned  at  the  Steaks,  the  influences  of  rank 
and  station  were  felt  there,  and  courtesy  stole  insensibly 
upon  those  who  at  other  times  were  merciless  assailants 
on  the  chair.  The  Duke's  conversation  abounded  with 
anecdote,  terseness  of  phrase,  and  evidence  of  extensive 
reading,  which  were  rarely  impaired  by  thesturdy  port- wine 
of  the  Society.  Charles  Morris,  the  Bard  of  the  Club,  sang 
one  or  two  of  his  own  songs,  the  quintessence  of  convivial 
mirth  and  fancy ;  at  nine  o'clock  the  Duke  quitted  the 
chair,  and  was  succeeded  by  Sir  John  Hippisley,  who  had 
a  terrible  time  of  it :  a  storm  of  "  arrowy  sleet  and  iron 
■■shower"  whistled  from  all  points  in  his  ears:  all  rules 
of  civilized  warfare  seemed  suspended,  and  even  the  new 
members  tried  their  first  timid  essays  upon  the  Baronet, 
than  whom  no  man  was  more  prompt  to  attack  others. 
He  quitted  the  Society  in  consequence  of  an  odd  adven- 

*  At  the  sale  of  the  curiosities  belonging  to  Mr.  Harley,  the 
comedian,  at  Gower-street,  in  November,  1858,  a  silver  gridiron, 
worn  by  a  member  of  the  Steaks,  was  sold  for  11.  3s. 


144  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON. 

ture  which  really  happened  to  him.,  and  which,  being  re- 
lated with  malicious  fidelity  by  one  of  the  Steaks,  raised 
such  a  shout  of  laughter  at  the  Baronet's  expense  that 
he  could  no  longer  bear  it.     Here  is  the  story. 

Sir  John  was  an  intelligent  man ;  Windham  used  to 
sav  of  him  that  he  was  very  near  being  a  clever  man. 
He  was  a  sort  of  busy  idler  ;  and  his  ruling  passion  was 
that  of  visiting  remarkable  criminals  in  prison,  and  ob- 
taining their  histories  from  their  own  lips.     A  murder 
had  been  committed,  by  one  Patch,  upon  a  Mr.  Bligh, 
at  Deptford ;  the  evidence  was  circumstantial,  but  the 
inference  of  his  guilt  was  almost  irresistible ;  still  many 
well-disposed    persons    doubted    the    man's    guilt,    and 
amongst  them  was  Sir  John,  w7ho  thought  the  anxiety 
could  only  be  relieved  by  Patch's  confession.     For  this 
end,  Sir  John  importuned  the  poor  wretch  incessantly, 
but  in  vain.    Patch  persisted  in  asserting  his  innocence, 
till,  wearied  with  Hippisley's  applications,  he  assured  the 
Baronet  that  he  would  reveal  to  him,  on  the  scaffold,  all 
that  he  knew  of  Mr.  Bligh's  death.     Flattered  with  be- 
ing made  the  depository  of  this  mysterious  communica- 
tion, Sir  John  mounted  the  scaffold  with  Patch,  and  was 
seen  for  some  minutes  in  close  conference  with  him.     It 
happened  that  a  simple  old  woman  from  the  country  was 
in  the  crowd  at  the  execution.     Her  eyes,  intent  upon 
the  awful  scene,  were  fixed,  by  an  accidental  misdirection, 
upon  Sir  John,  whom  she  mistook  for  the  person  who 
was  about  to  be  executed ;  and  not  waiting  till  the  crimi- 
nal was  actually  turned  off,  she  went  away  with  the  wrong 
impression ;  the   peculiar  face,  and  above  all,  the  pecu- 
liar nose  (a  most  miraculous  organ),  of  Hippisley,  being 
indelibly  impressed  upon  her  memory.     Not  many  days 
after,  the  old  lady  met  Sir  John  in  Cheapside ;  the  cer- 


THE   BEEF-STEAK   SOCIETY.  145 

tainty  that  lie  was  Patch,  seized  her  so  forcibly  that  she 
screamed  out  to  the  passing  crowd,  "  It's  Patch,  it's 
Patch  ;  I  saw  him  hanged ;  Heaven  deliver  me  !  " — and 
then  fainted.  When  this  incident  was  first  related  at 
the  Steaks,  a  mock  inquest  was  set  on  foot,  to  decide 
whether  Sir  John  was  Patch  or  not,  and  unanimously  de- 
cided in  the  affirmative. 

Cobb,  Secretary  of  the  East  India  Company,  was  an- 
other choice  spirit  at  the  Steaks :  once,  when  he  filled 
the  vice-chair,  he  so  worried  the  poor  president,  an  Alder- 
man, that  he  exclaimed,  "  Would  to  Heaven,  I  had  an- 
other vice-president,  so  that  I  had  a  gentleman  oppo- 
site to  me  !  " — "  Why  should  you  wish  any  such  thing  ?" 
rejoined  Cobb ;  "  you  cannot  be  more  opposite  to  a  gen- 
tleman than  you  are  at  present." 

After  the  fire  at  Covent  Garden,  the  Sublime  Society 
were  re-established  at  the  Bedford,  where  they  met  until 
Mr.  Arnold  had  fitted  up  apartments  for  their  reception 
in  the  English  Opera  House.  The  Steaks  continued  to 
meet  here  until  the  destruction  of  the  Theatre  by  fire,  in 
1830 ;  after  which  they  returned  to  the  Bedford ;  and, 
upon  the  re-building  of  the  Lyceum  Theatre,  a  dining- 
room  was  again  provided  for  them.  "  The  room  they 
dine  in,"  says  Mr.  Cunningham,  "  a  little  Escurial  in 
itself,  is  most  appropriately  fitted  up — the  doors,  wain- 
scoting, and  roof,  of  good  old  English  oak,  ornamented 
with  gridirons  as  thick  as  Henry  the  Seventh's  Chapel 
with  the  portcullis  of  the  founder.  Everything  assumes 
the  shape,  or  is  distinguished  by  the  representation,  of 
their  emblematic  implement,  the  gridiron.  The  cook  is 
seen  at  his  office  through  the  bars  of  a  spacious  gridiron, 
and  the  original  gridiron  of  the  Society,  (the  survivor  of 
two  terrific  fires)  holds  a  conspicuous  position  in  the  cen- 

VOL.  I.  L 


146  CLUB  LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

tre  of  the  ceiling.  Every  member  has  the  power  of  in- 
viting a  friend."  The  portraits  of  several  worthies  of 
the  Sublime  Society  were  painted  :  one  brother  "hangs 
in  chain/'  as  Arnold  remarked  in  alluding  to  the  civic 
chain  in  which  he  is  represented ;  it  was  in  allusion  to 
the  toga  in  which  he  is  painted,  that  Brougham,  being 
asked  whether  he  thought  it  a  likeness,  remarked  that 
it  could  not  fail  of  being  like  him,  "  there  was  so  much 
of  the  fur  (thief)  about  it." 

The  author  of  the  Clubs  of  London,  who  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Sublime  Society,  describes  a  right  in  favouring 
them,  "  a  brotherhood,  a  sentiment  of  equality.  How 
you  would  laugh  to  see  the  junior  member  emerging  from 
the  cellar,  with  half-a-dozen  bottles  in  a  basket !  I  have 
seen  Brougham  employed  in  this  honourable  diplomacy, 
and  executing  it  with  the  correctness  of  a  butler.  The 
Duke  of  Leinster,  in  his  turn,  took  the  same  duty. 

"  With  regard  to  Brougham,  at  first  sight  you  would 
not  set  him  down  as  having  a  natural  and  prompt  alacrity 
for  the  style  of  humour  that  prevails  amongst  us.  But 
Brougham  is  an  excellent  member,  and  is  a  remarkable 
instance  of  the  peculiar  influences  of  this  peculiar  So- 
ciety on  the  human  character.  We  took  him  just  as  the 
schools  of  philosophy,  the  bar,  the  senate,  had  made  him. 
Literary,  forensic,  and  parliamentary  habits  are  most  in- 
tractable materials,  you  will  say,  to  make  a  member  of 
the  Steaks,  yet  no  man  has  imbibed  more  of  its  spirit, 
and  he  enters  its  occasional  gladiatorship  with  the  great- 
est glee." 

Admirable  were  the  offhand  puns  and  passes,  which, 
though  of  a  legal  character,  were  played  off  by  Bolland, 
another  member  of  the  Society.  Brougham  was  putting 
hypothetically  the  case  of  a  man  convicted  of  felony,  and 


THE  BEEF-STEAK   SOCIETY.  147 

duly  hanged  according  to  law ;  but  restored  to  life  by 
medical  appliances  ;  and  asked  what  would  be  the  man's 
defence  if  again  brought  to  trial.  "Why,"  returned 
Bolland,  "  it  would  be  for  him  to  plead  a  cord  and  sa- 
tisfaction." ["  Accord  and  satisfaction  "  is  a  common 
plea  in  legal  practice.]  The  same  evening  were  talked 
over  Dean  Swift's  ingenious  but  grotesque  puns  upon 
the  names  of  antiquity,  such  as  Ajax,  Archimedes,  and 
others  equally  well  known.  Bolland  remarked  that 
when  Swift  was  looking  out  for  those  humorous  quib- 
bles, it  was  singular  that  it  should  never  have  occurred 
to  him  that  among  the  shades  that  accost  iEneas  in  the 
sixth  book  of  the  iEneid,  there  was  a  Scotchman  of  the 
name  of  Hugh  Forbes.  Those  who  had  read  Virgil  be- 
gan to  stare.  "  It  is  quite  plain,"  said  Bolland  :  ' '  the 
ghost  exclaims,  ( Olim  Euphorbus  eram.'  " 

The  following  are  the  first  twenty-four  names  of  the 
Club,  copied  from  their  book  : — * 

George  Lambert.  John  Boson. 

William  Hogarth.  Henry  Smart. 

John  Rich.  John  Huggins. 

Lacy  Ryan.  Hugh  Watson. 

Ebenezer  Forrest.  William  Huggins. 

Robert  Scott.  Edmund  Tuffnell. 

Thomas  Chapman.  Thomas  Salway. 

Dennis  Delane.  Charles  Neale. 

John  Thornhill.  Charles  Latrobe. 

Francis  Niveton.  Alexander  Gordon. 

Sir  William  Saunderson.  William  Tathall. 

Richard  Mitchell.  Gabriel  Hunt. 

The  following  were  subsequent  members  : — 

Francis  Hay  man.  Mr.  Beard. 

Theo.  Cibber.  Mr.  Wilkes. 

*  This  and  the  subsequent  lists  have  been  printed  by  Mr. 
John  Green. 

l  2 


148 


CLUB   LIFE   OF  LONDON. 


Mr.  Saunders  Welsh. 
Thomas  Hudson. 
John  Churchill. 
Mr.  Williamson. 


Lord  Sandwich. 
Prince  of  Wales. 
Mr.  Havard. 
Chas.  Price. 


In  1805  the  members  were — 


Sir  J.  Boyd. 
Estcourt. 
J.  Trav anion,  jun. 
Earl  of  Suffolk. 
Crossdill. 

J.  Kenible,  expelled  for  his 
mode  of  conduct. 

November  6th,  1814: — 

Stephenson. 

Cobb. 

Richards. 

Sir  J.  Scott,  Bart. 

Foley. 

Arnold. 

Braddyll. 

Nettleshipp. 

Middleton. 

Denison. 

Johnson. 

Scudamore. 

Nixon. 

T.  Scott. 


Prince  of  Wales. 
Charles  Howard,  Duke  of 

Norfolk. 
Mingay. 
Johnson. 
Scudamore. 
Haworth. 


Wilson. 
Ellis. 
Walsh. 
Linley. 

Duke  of  Norfolk. 
Mayo. 

Duke  of  Sussex. 
Morrice. 
Bolland. 
Lord  Grantley. 
Peter  Moore. 

Dunn,  Treasurer  of  Drury 
Lane   Theatre. 


When  the  Club  dined  at  the  Shakspeare,  in  the  room 
with  the  Lion's  head  over  the  mantelpiece,  these  popu- 
lar actors  were  members : — 


Lewis. 

Pope. 

Irish  Johnson. 

Holman. 

Munden. 

Simmonds 

Fawcett. 

CAPTAIN   MORKIS.  149 

Formerly,  the  table-cloths  had  gridirons  in  damask 
on  them  ;  their  drinking-glasses  bore  gridirons ;  as  did 
the  plates  also.  Among  the  presents  made  to  the  So- 
ciety are  a  punch-ladle,  from  Barrington  Bradshaw  ; 
Sir  John  Boyd,  six  spoons ;  mustard  pot,  by  John  Tre- 
vanion,  M.P. ;  two  dozen  water-plates  and  eight  dishes, 
given  by  the  Duke  of  Sussex;  cruet-stand,  given  by 
W.  Bolland  ;  vinegar-glasses,  by  Thomas  Scott.  Lord 
Suffolk  gave  a  silver  cheese-toaster ;  toasted  or  stewed 
cheese  being  the  wind-up  of  the  dinner. 


CAPTAIN  MORRIS, 

THE    BARD    OF    THE    BEEF-STEAK    SOCIETY. 

Hitherto  we  have  mentioned  but  incidentally  Charles 
Morris,  the  Nestor  and  the  laureate  of  the  Steaks  ;  but 
he  merits  fuller  record.  u  Alas  !  poor  Yorick  !  we  knew 
him  well ;"  we  remember  his  a  political  vest,"  to  which 
he  addressed  a  sweet  lyric — "  The  Old  Whig  Poet  to  his 
Old  Buff  Waistcoat."*  Nor  can  we  forget  his  cour- 
teous manner  and  his  gentlemanly  pleasantry,  and 
his  unflagging  cheerfulness,  long  after  he  had  retired  to 
enjoy  the  delights  of  rural  life,  despite  the  early  prayer 
of  his  racy  verse  : — 

"  In  town  let  me  live  then,  in  town  let  me  die  ; 
For  in  truth  I  can't  relish  the  country,  not  I. 
If  one  must  have  a  villa  in  summer  to  dwell, 
Oh !  give  me  the  sweet  shady  side  of  Pall  Mall." 

#  See  Century  of  Anecdote,  vol.  i.  p.  321. 


150  CLUB  LIFE   OF   LONDON. 

This  "  sweet  shady  side  "  has  almost  disappeared  ;  and 
of  the  palace  whereat  he  was  wont  to  shine,  not  a  trace 
remains,  save  the  name.  Charles  Morris  was  born  of  good 
family,  in  1745,  and  appears  to  have  inherited  a  taste  for 
lyric  composition ;  for  his  father  composed  the  popular 
song  of  Kitty  Crowder.  For  half  a  century,  Morris  moved 
in  the  first  circles  of  rank  and  gaiety  :  he  was  the  "  Sun 
of  the  table,"  at  Carlton   House,  as  well  as  at  Norfolk 
House ;  and  attaching  himself  politically  as  well  as  con- 
vivially  to  his  table  companions,  he  composed  the  cele- 
brated ballads  of  "  Billy's  too  young  to  drive  us,"  and 
"  Billy  Pitt  and  the  Farmer,"  which  were  clever  satires 
upon  the  ascendant  politics  of  their  day.     His  humor- 
ous ridicule  of  the  Tories  was,  however,  but  ill  repaid  by 
the  Whigs ;  at  least,  if  we  may  trust  the  Ode  to  the 
Buff  Waistcoat,  written    in  1815.      His  '  Songs  Poli- 
tical and   Convivial/  many  of  which  were  sung  at  the 
Steaks'  board,  became  very  popular.     In  1830,  we  pos- 
sessed a  copy  of  the  24th  edition,  with  a  portrait  of  the 
author,  half-masked ;  one  of  the  ditties  was  described 
to  have  been  "  sung  by  the  Prince  of  Wales  to  a  certain 
lady,"  to  the  air   of  "  There's  a  difference  between   a 
Beggar  and  a  Queen ;"  some  of  the  early  songs  were 
condemned  for  their  pruriency,  and  were  omitted  in  sub- 
sequent editions.     His  best  Anacreontic  is  the  song  Ad 
Poculum,  for  which  Morris  received  the  Gold  Cup  from 
the  Harmonic  Society : 

"  Come,  thou  soul-reviving  cup  ; 

Try  thy  healing  art ; 
Stir  the  fancy's  visions  up, 

And  warm  my  wasted  heart. 
Touch  with  freshening  tints  of  bliss 

Memory's  fading  dream. 


CAPTAIN   MORRIS.  351 

Give  me,  while  thy  lip  I  kiss, 

The  heaven  that's  in  thy  stream. 

As  the  witching  fires  of  wine 

Pierce  through  Time's  past  reign, 
Gleams  of  joy  that  once  were  mine, 

Glimpse  back  on  life  again. 
And  if  boding  terrors  rise 

O'er  my  melting  mind, 
Hope  still  starts  to  clear  mv  eyes, 

And  drinks  the  tear  behind. 

Then  life's  wintry  shades  new  drest, 

Fair  as  summer  seem  ; 
Flowers  I  gather  from  my  breast, 

And  sunshine  from  the  stream. 
As  the  cheering  goblets  pass, 

Memory  culls  her  store ; 
Scatters  sweets  around  my  glass, 

And  prompts  my  thirst  for  more. 

Far  from  toils  the  great  and  grave 

To  proud  ambition  give, 
My  little  world  kind  Nature  gave, 

And  simply  bade  me  live. 
On  me  she  fix'd  an  humble  art, 

To  deck  the  Muse's  groves, 
And  on  the  nerve  that  twines  my  heart 

The  touch  of  deathless  love. 

Then,  roey  god,  this  night  let  me 

Thy  cheering  magic  share  ; 
Again  let  hope-fed  Fancy  see 

Life's  picture  bright  and  fair. 
Oh !  steal  from  care  my  heart  away, 

To  sip  thy  healing  spring ; 
And  let  me  taste  that  bless  to-day 

To-morrow  may  not  bring." 


152  CLUB   LIFE    OF    LONDON. 

The  friendship  of  the  Duke  of  Norfolk  and  Charles 
Morris  extended  far  beyond  the  Steaks  meetings ;  and 
the  author  of  the  Clubs  of  London  tells  us  by  what  means 
the  Duke's  regard  took  a  more  permanent  form.  It 
appears  that  John  Kemble  had  sat  very  late  at  one  of 
the  night  potations  at  Norfolk  House.  Charles  Morris 
had  just  retired,  and  a  very  small  party  remained  in  the 
dining-room,  when  His  Grace  of  Norfolk  began  to  de- 
plore, somewhat  pathetically,  the  smallness  of  the  sti- 
pend upon  which  poor  Charles  was  obliged  to  support  his 
family ;  observing,  that  it  was  a  discredit  to  the  age,  that 
a  man,  who  had  so  long  gladdened  the  lives  of  so  many 
titled  and  opulent  associates,  should  be  left  to  struggle 
with  the  difficulties  of  an  inadequate  income  at  a  time 
of  life  when  he  had  no  reasonable  hope  of  augmenting 
it.  Kemble  listened  with  great  attention  to  the  Duke's 
jeremiade ;  but  after  a  slight  pause,  his  feelings  getting 
the  better  of  his  deference,  he  broke  out  thus,  in  a  tone 
of  peculiar  emphasis  : — "  And  does  your  Grace  sincerely 
lament  the  destitute  condition  of  your  friend,  with  whom 
you  have  passed  so  many  agreeable  hours  ?  Your  Grace 
has  described  that  condition  most  feelingly.  But  is  it 
possible,  that  the  greatest  Peer  of  the  realm,  luxuriating 
amidst  the  prodigalities  of  fortune,  should  lament  the 
distress  which  he  does  not  relieve?  the  empty  phrase 
of  benevolence — the  mere  breath  and  vapour  of  generous 
sentiment,  become  no  man ;  they  certainly  are  unworthy 
of  your  Grace.  Providence,  my  Lord  Duke,  has  placed 
you  in  a'  station  where  the  wish  to  do  good  and  the 
doing  it  are  the  same  thing.  An  annuity  from  your 
overflowing  coffers,  or  a  small  nook  of  land,  clipped  from 
your  unbounded  domains,  would  scarcely  be  felt  by  your 
Grace ;  but  you  would  be  repaid,  my  Lord,  with  usury  ; 


CAPTAIN   MORRIS.  153 

— with  tears  of  grateful  joy ;  with  prayers  warm  from 
a  bosom  which  your  bounty  will  have  rendered  happy." 

Such  was  the  substance  of  Kemble's  harangue.  Jack 
Bannister  used  to  relate  the  incident,  by  ingeniously 
putting  the  speech  into  blank  verse,  or  rather  the  spe- 
cies of  prose  into  which  Kemble's  phraseology  naturally 
fell  when  he  was  highly  animated.  But,  however  ex- 
pressed, it  produced  its  effect.  For  though  the  Duke 
(the  night  was  pretty  far  gone,  and  several  bottles  had 
been  emptied)  said  nothing  at  the  time,  but  stared  with 
some  astonishment  at  so  unexpected  a  lecture;  not 
a  month  elapsed  before  Charles  Morris  was  invested 
with  a  beautiful  retreat  at  Brockham,  in  Surrey,  upon 
the  bank  of  the  river  Mole,  and  at  the  foot  of  the  noble 
range  of  which  Box  Hill  forms  the  most  picturesque 
point. 

The  Duke  went  to  his  rest  in  1815.  Morris  con- 
tinued to  be  the  laureate  of  the  Steaks  until  the  year 
1831,  when  he  thus  bade  adieu  to  the  Society  in  his 
eighty- sixth  year  : — 

"  Adieu  to  the  world  !  where  I  gratefully  own, 
Few  men  more  delight  or  more  comfort  have  known  : 
To  an  age  far  beyond  mortal  lot  have  I  trod 
The  path  of  pure  health,  that  best  blessing  of  God  ; 
And  so  mildly  devout  Nature  temper'd  my  frame, 
Holy  patience  still  sooth'd  when  Adversity  came ; 
Thus  with  mind  ever  cheerful,  and  tongue  never  tired, 
I  sung  the  gay  strains  these  sweet  blessings  inspired  ; 
And  by  blending  light  mirth  with  a  moral -mix'd  stave, 
Won  the  smile  of  the  gay  and  the  nod  of  the  grave. 
But  at  length  the  dull  languor  of  mortal  decay 
Throws  a  weight  on  its  spirit  too  light  for  its  clay ; 
And  the  fancy,  subdued,  as  the  body  's  opprest, 
Resigns  the  faint  flights  that  scarce  wake  in  the  breast. 
A  painful  memento  that  man  's  not  to  play 


154  CLUB  LIFE   OF   LONDON. 

A  game  of  light  folly  through  Life's  sober  day  ; 

A  just  admonition,  though  view'd  with  regret, 

Still  blessedly  offer'd,  though  thanklessly  met. 

Too  long,  I  perhaps,  like  the  many  who  stray, 

Have  upheld  the  gay  themes  of  the  Bacchanal's  day  ; 

But  at  length  Time  has  brought,  what  it  ever  will  bring, 

A  shade  that  excites  more  to  sigh  than  to  sing. 

In  this  close  of  Life's  chapter,  ye  high-favour'd  few, 

Take  my  Muse's  last  tribute — this  painful  adieu  ! 

Take  my  wish,  that  your  bright  social  circle  on  earth 

For  ever  may  flourish  in  concord  and  mirth  ; 

For  the  long  years  of  joy  I  have  shared  at  your  board, 

Take  the  thanks  of  my  heart — where  they  long  have  been 

stored ; 
And  remember,  when  Time  tolls  my  last  passing  knell, 
The  'old  bard'  dropp'd  a  tear,  and  then  bade  ye — Farewell!" 

Id  1835,  however,  Morris  revisited  the  Society,  who 
then  presented  him  with  a  large  silver  bowl,  appropri- 
ately inscribed,  as  a  testimonial  of  their  affectionate 
esteem  ;  and  the  venerable  bard  thus  addressed  the  bro- 
therhood : — 

"  Well,  I'm  come,  my  dear  friends,  your  kind  wish  to  obey, 
And  drive,  by  light  mirth,  all  Life's  shadows  away ; 
And  turn  the  heart's  sighs  to  the  throbbings  of  joy, 
And  a  grave  aged  man  to  a  merry  old  boy. 
'Tis  a  bold  transformation,  a  daring  design, 
And  not  past  the  power  of  Friendship  and  Wine  ; 
And  I  trust  that  e'en  yet  this  warm  mixture  will  raise 
A  brisk  spark  of  light  o'er  the  shade  of  my  days." 

Shortly  after  this  effusion,  he  thus  alluded  to  the 
treasured  gift  of  the  Society : — 

"  When  my  spirits  are  low,  for  relief  and  delight, 
I  still  place  your  splendid  Memorial  in  sight  ; 
And  call  to  my  Muse,  when  care  strives  to  pursue, 
1  Bring  the  Steaks  to  my  Memory  and  the  Bowl  to  my  view.' 


CAPTAIN   MOKBIS.  155 

When  brought,  at  its  sight  all  the  blue  devils  fly, 
And  a  world  of  gay  visions  rise  bright  to  my  eye  ; 
Cold  Fear  shuns  the  cup  where  warm  Memory  flows  ; 
And  Grief,  shamed  by  Joy,  hides  his  budget  of  Woes. 
Tis  a  pure  holy  fount,  where  for  ever  I  find 
A  sure  double  charm  for  the  Body  and  Mind ; 
For  I  feel  while  I'm  cheer'd  by  the  drop  that  I  lift, 
I'm  Blest  by  the  Motive  that  hallows  the  Gift." 

How  nicely  tempered  is  this  chorus  to  our  Bard's 
"Life's  a  Fable:"— 

"  Then  roll  along,  my  lyric  song  ; 
It  seasons  well  the  table, 
And  tells  a  truth  to  Age  and  Youth, 
That  Life's  a  fleeting  fable. 

Thus  Mirth  and  Woe  the  brighter  show 

From  rosy  wine's  reflection  ; 
From  first  to  last,  this  truth  hath  past — 

'Twas  made  for  Care's  correction. 
Now  what  those  think  who  water  drink, 

Of  these  old  rules  of  Horace, 
I  sha'n't  now  show  ;  but  this  I  know, 

His  rules  do  well  for  Morris. 
Old  Horace,  when  he  dipp'd  his  pen, 

'Twas  wine  he  had  resort  to ; 
He  chose  for  use  Falernian  juice, 

As  I  choose  old  Oporto  ; 
At  every  bout  an  ode  came  out, 

Yet  Bacchus  kept  him  twinkling  ; 
As  well  aware  more  fire  was  there, 

Which  wanted  but  the  sprinkling." 

At  Brockham,  Morris  "  drank  the  pure  pleasures  of 
the  rural  life"  long  after  many  a  gay  light  of  his  own 
time  had  flickered  out,  and  become  almost  forgotten.  At 
length,  his  course  ebbed  away,  July  11,  1838,  in  his 


156  CLUB   LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

ninety-third  year;  his  illness,  which  was  only  of  four  days, 
was  internal  inflammation.  The  attainment  of  so  great 
an  age,  and  the  recollection  of  Morris's  associations, 
show  him  to  have  presented  a  rare  combination  of 
mirth  and  prudence.  He  retained  his  gaite  de  cceur  to 
the  last ;  so  that  with  equal  truth  he  remonstrated  : 

"When  Life  charms  my  heart,  must  I  kindly  be  told, 
I'm  too  gay  and  too  happy  for  one  that 's  so  old  ?" 

The  venerable  Bard's  remains  rest  near  the  east  end 
of  his  parish  church  of  Betch worth,  in  the  burial- 
ground  :  the  grave  is  simply  marked  by  a  head  and 
foot-stone,  with  an  inscription  of  three  or  four  lines  : 
he  who  had  sung  the  praises  of  so  many  choice  spirits, 
has  not  here  a  stanza  to  his  own  memory  :  such  is,  to 
some  extent,  the  natural  sequitur  with  men  who  outlive 
their  companions.  Morris  was  staid  and  grave  in  his 
general  deportment.  Moore,  in  his  Diary,  has  this  odd 
note  :  "  Linley  describes  Colman  at  the  Beefsteak  Club 
quite  drunk,  making  extraordinary  noise  while  Captain 
Morris  was  singing,  which  disconcerted  the  latter  (who, 
strange  to  say,  is  a  very  grave,  steady  person)  consider- 
ably." Yet,  Morris  could  unbend,  with  great  simplicity 
and  feeling.  We  have  often  met  him,  in  his  patriarchal 
"  blue  and  buff"  (blue  coat  and  buff  waistcoat),  in  his 
walks  about  the  lovely  country  in  which  he  resided. 
Coming,  one  day,  into  the  bookseller's  shop,  at  Dork- 
ing, there  chanced  to  be  deposited  a  pianoforte ;  when 
the  old  Bard  having  looked  around  him,  to  see  there 
were  no  strangers  present,  sat  down  to  the  instrument, 
and  played  and  sang  with  much  spirit  the  air  of  "  The 
girl  I  left  behind  me  i"  yet  he  was  then  past  his  eightieth 
year. 

Morris's  ancient  and  rightful  office  at  the  Steaks  was 


CAPTAIN   MORRIS.  157 

to  make  the  punch,  and  it  was  amusing  to  see  him  at  his 
laboratory  at  the  sideboard,  stocked  with  the  various  pro- 
ducts that  enter  into  the  composition  of  that  nectareous 
mixture  :  then  smacking  an  elementary  glass  or  two,  and 
giving  a  significant  nod,  the  fiat  of  its  excellence ;  and 
what  could  exceed  the  ecstasy  with  which  he  filled  the 
glasses  that  thronged  around  the  bowl ;  joying  over 
its  mantling  beauties,  and  distributing  the  fascinating 
draught 

"  That  flames  and  dances  in  its  crystal  bound"  ? 

lt  Well  has  our  laureate  earned  his  wreath,"  (says  the 
author  of  The  Clubs  of  London,  who  was  often  a  partici- 
pator in  these  delights).  "At  that  table  his  best  scngs 
have  been  sung ;  for  that  table  his  best  songs  were  writ- 
ten. His  allegiance  has  been  undivided.  Neither  hail, 
nor  shower,  nor  snowstorm  have  kept  him  away  :  no  en- 
gagement, no  invitation  seduced  him  from  it.  I  have  seen 
him  there,  (  outwatching  the  bear/  in  his  seventy-eighth 
year ;  for  as  yet  nature  had  given  no  signal  of  decay  in 
frame  or  faculty  3  but  you  saw  him  in  a  green  and  vi- 
gorous old  age,  tripping  mirthfully  along  the  downhill 
of  existence,  without  languor,  or  gout,  or  any  of  the  pri- 
vileges exacted  by  time  for  the  mournful  privilege  of 
living.  His  face  is  still  resplendent  with  cheerfulness. 
'  Die  when  you  will,  Charles/  said  Curran  to  him,  '  you 
will  die  in  your  youth/ 


>> 


158  CLUB   LIFE   OF  LONDON. 


BEEF-STEAK  CLUBS. 

There  are  other  Beef-steak  Clubs  to  be  chronicled. 
Pyne,  in  his  Wine  and  Walnuts,  says :  "  At  the  same 
time  the  social  Club  flourished  in  England,  and  about 
the  year  1749,  a  Beef-steak  Club  was  established  at  the 
Theatre  Royal,  Dublin,  of  which  the  celebrated  Mrs. 
Margaret  Woffington  was  president.  It  was  begun  by 
Mr.  Sheridan,  but  on  a  very  different  plan  to  that  in 
London,  no  theatrical  performer,  save  one  female,  being- 
admitted  ;  and  though  called  a  Club,  the  manager  alone 
bore  all  the  expenses.  The  plan  was,  by  making  a  list  of 
about  fifty  or  sixty  persons,  chiefly  noblemen  and  mem- 
bers of  Parliament,  who  were  invited.  Usually  about 
half  that  number  attended,  and  dined  in  the  manager's 
apartment  in  the  theatre.  There  was  no  female  ad- 
mitted but  this  Peg  Woffington,  so  denominated  by  all 
her  contemporaries,  who  was  seated  in  a  great  chair  at 
the  head  of  the  table,  and  elected  president  for  the 
season. 

"  '  It  will  readily  be  believed/  says  Mr.  Victor,  in  his 
History  of  the  Theatres,  who  was  joint  proprietor  of  the 
house,  '  that  a  club  where  there  were  good  accommo- 
dations, such  a  lovely  president,  full  of  wit  and  spirit, 
and  nothing  to  pay,  must  soon  grow  remarkably  fashion- 
able/ It  did  so;  but  we  find  it  subsequently  caused 
the  theatre  to  be  pulled  to  pieces  about  the  manager's 
head. 

"  Mr.  Victor  says  of  Mrs.  Margaret,  '  she  possessed 
captivating  charms  as  a  jovial,  witty  bottle  companion, 


CLUB  AT  TOM'S   COFFEE-HOUSE.  159 

but  few  remaining  as  a  mere  female/  We  have  Dr. 
Johnson's  testimony,  however,  who  had  often  gossiped 
with  Mrs.  Margaret  in  the  green-room  at  old  Drury, 
more  in  the  lady's  favour. 

"  This  author  (Victor)  says,  speaking  of  the  Beef- 
steak Club,  '  It  was  a  club  of  ancient  institution  in  every 
theatre  ;  when  the  principal  performers  dined  one  day  in 
the  week  together  (generally  Saturday),  and  authors  and 
other  geniuses  were  admitted  members/  " 

The  Club  in  Ivy-lane,  of  which  Dr.  Johnson  was  a 
member,  was  originally  a  Beef-steak  Club. 

There  was  also  a  political  Club,  called  "the  Hump 
Steak,  or  Liberty  Club,"  in  existence  in  1733-4.  The 
members  were  in  eager  opposition  to  Sir  Robert  Wal- 
pole. 

At  the  Bell  Tavern,  Church-row,  Houndsditch,  was 
held  the  Beef-steak  Club,  instituted  by  Mr.  Beard,  Mr. 
Dunstall,  Mr.  Woodward,  Stoppalear,  Bencroft,  Gifford, 
etc. — See  Memoirs  of  Charles  Lee  Lewis ,  vol.  ii.  p.  196. 


CLUB  AT  TOM'S  COFFEE-HOUSE. 

Covent-Garden  has  lost  many  of  its  houses  "  studded 
with  anecdote  and  history  ;"  and  the  mutations  among 
what  Mr.  Thackeray  affectionately  called  its  "  rich  clus- 
ter of  brown  taverns "  are  sundry  and  manifest.  Its 
coffee-houses  proper  have  almost  disappeared,  even  in 
name.  Yet,  in  the  last  century,  in  one  short  street  of 
Covent-Garden — Russell-street — flourished  three  of  the 
most  celebrated  coffee-houses  in  the  metropolis :  Will's, 


1G0  CLUB  LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

Button's,  and  Tom's.  The  reader  need  not  be  reminded 
of  Will's,  with  Dryden,  the  Tatler  and  Spectator,  and  its 
wits'  room  on  the  first  floor ;  or  Button's,  with  its  lion's 
head  letter-box,  and  the  young  poets  in  the  back  room. 
Tom's,  No.  17,  on  the  north  side  of  Russell-street,  and 
of  somewhat  later  date,  was  taken  down  in  1865.  The 
premises  remained  with  little  alteration,  long  after  they 
ceased  to  be  a  coffee-house.  It  was  named  alter  its  ori- 
ginal proprietor,  Thomas  West,  who,  Nov.  26,  1722, 
threw  himself,  in  a  delirium,  from  the  second-floor  win- 
dow into  the  street,  and  died  immediately  {Historical 
Register  for  1722).  The  upper  portion  of  the  premises 
was  the  coffee-house,  under  which  lived  T.  Lewis,  the 
bookseller,  the  original  publisher,  in  1711,  of  Pope's 
Essay  on  Criticism.  The  usual  frequenters  upstairs  may 
be  judged  of  by  the  following  passage  in  the  Journey 
through  England,  first  edit.,  1714: — "  After  the  play, 
the  best  company  generally  go  to  Tom's  and  Will's 
coffee-houses,  near  adjoining,  where  there  is  playing  at 
piquet  and  the  best  conversation  till  midnight.  Here 
you  will  see  blue  and  green  ribbons,  with  stars,  sitting 
familiarly  and  talking  with  the  same  freedom  as  if  they 
had  left  their  quality  and  degrees  of  distance  at  home ; 
and  a  stranger  tastes  with  pleasure  the  universal  liberty 
of  speech  of  the  English  nation.  And  in  all  the  coffee- 
houses you  have  not  only  the  foreign  prints,  but  several 
English  ones,  with  the  foreign  occurrences,  besides  papers 
of  morality  and  party  disputes."  Such  were  the  Augus- 
tan delights  of  a  memorable  coffee-house  of  the  reign  of 
Queen  Anne.  Of  this  period  is  a  recollection  of  Mr. 
Grignon,  sen.,  having  seen  the  "  balcony  of  Tom's 
crowded  with  noblemen  in  their  stars  and  garters,  drink- 
ing their  tea  and  coffee  exposed  to  the  people."    We  find 


CLUB   AT   TOM'S   COFFEE-HOUSE.  161 

an  entry  in  Walp ale's  Letters,  1745: — "  A  gentleman, 
I  don't  know  who,  the  other  night  at  Tom's  coffee-house, 
said,  on  Lord  Baltimore  refusing  to  come  into  the  Ad- 
miralty because  Lord  Vere  Beauclerk  had  the  precedence, 
'  it  put  him  in  mind  of  Pinkethman's  petition  in  the 
Spectator,  where  he  complains  that  formerly  he  used  to  act 
second  chair  in  "  Diocletian,"  but  now  he  was  reduced 
to  dance  fifth  flower-pot.' " 

In  1764  there  appears  to  have  been  formed  here,  by  a 
guinea  subscription,  a  Club  of  nearly  700  members — the 
nobility,  foreign  ministers,  gentry,  and  men  of  genius  of 
the  age ;  the  large  front  room  on  the  first  floor  being  the 
card-room.  The  Club  flourished,  so  that  in  1768,  "  hav- 
ing considerably  enlarged  itself  of  late,"  Thomas  Haines, 
the  then  proprietor,  took  in  the  front  room  of  the  next 
house  westward  as  a  coffee-room.  The  front  room  of 
No.  17  was  then  appropriated  exclusively  as  a  card-room 
for  the  subscription  club,  each  member  paying  one  guinea 
annually  ;  the  adjoining  apartment  being  used  as  a  con- 
versation-room. The  subscription-books  are  before  us, 
and  here  we  find  in  the  long  list  the  names  of  Sir  Tho- 
mas Robinson,  Bart.,  who  was  designated  "  Long  Sir 
Thomas  Robinson,"  to  distinguish  him  from  his  name- 
sake, Sir  Thomas  Robinson,  created  Lord  Grantham  in 
1761.  "  Long  Tom,"  as  the  former  was  familiarly  called, 
was  a  Commissioner  of  Excise  and  Governor  of  Barba- 
does.  He  was  a  sad  bore,  especially  to  the  Duke  of 
Newcastle,  the  minister,  who  resided  in  Lincoln's  Inn 
Fields.  However,  he  gave  rise  to  some  smart  things. 
Lord  Chesterfield  being  asked  by  the  latter  Baronet  to 
write  some  verses  upon  him,  immediately  produced  this 
epigram : — 

VOL.  I.  M 


162  CLUB  LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

"  Unlike  my  subject  now  shall  be  my  song, 
It  shall  be  witty,  and  it  shan't  be  long." 

Long  Sir  Thomas  distinguished  himself  in  this  odd 
manner.  When  our  Sovereign  had  not  dropped  the  folly 
of  calling  himself  "  King  of  France/ *  and  it  was  cus- 
tomary at  the  Coronation  of  an  English  Sovereign  to 
have  fictitious  Dukes  of  Aquitaine  and  Normandy  to  re- 
present the  vassalage  of  France,  Sir  Thomas  was  selected 
to  fill  the  second  mock  dignity  at  the  coronation  of 
George  III.,  to  which  Churchill  alludes  in  his  Ghost  ; 
but  he  assigns  a  wrong  dukedom  to  Sir  Thomas: 

"  Could  Satire  not  (though  doubtful  since 
Whether  he  plumber  is  or  prince) 
Tell  of  a  simple  Knight's  advance, 
To  be  a  doughty  peer  of  France  ? 
Tell  how  he  did  a  dukedom  gain, 
And  Robinson  was  Aquitain." 

Of  the  two  Sir  Thomas  Robinsons,  one  was  tall  and 
thin,  the  other  short  and  fat :  "I  can't  imagine,"  said  Lady 
Townshend,  "  why  the  one  should  be  preferred  to  the 
other ;  I  see  but  little  difference  between  them  :  the  one 
is  as  broad  as  the  other  is  long." 

Next  on  the  books  is  Samuel  Foote,  who,  after  the 
decline  of  Tom's,  was  mostly  to  be  seen  at  the  Bedford. 
Then  comes  Arthur  Murphy,  lately  called  to  the  Bar; 
David  Garrick,  who  then  lived  in  Southampton-street, 
(though  he  was  not  a  clubbable  man) ;  John  Beard,  the 
fine  tenor  singer ;  John  Webb ;  Sir  Richard  Glynne ; 
Robert  Gosling,  the  banker;  Colonel  Eyre,  of  Maryle- 
bone  ;  Earl  Percy ;  Sir  John  Fielding,  the  justice;  Paul 
Methuen,  of  Corsham  ;  Richard  Clive ;  the  great  Lord 
dive;  the  eccentric  Duke  of  Montagu;  Sir  Fletcher 
Norton,  the  ill-mannered ;  Lord  Edward  Bentinck ;  Dr. 


CLUB   AT   TOM'S  COFFEE-HOUSE.  163 

Samuel  Johnson ;    the  celebrated  Marquis  of  Granby  ; 
Sir  F.  B.  Delaval,  the  friend  of  Foote  ;  William  Tooke, 
the  solicitor ;  the  Hon.  Charles  Howard,  sen. ;  the  Duke 
of  Northumberland ;  Sir  Francis  Gosling ;  the  Earl  of 
Anglesey ;  Sir  George  Brydges  Rodney  (afterwards  Lord 
Rodney);  Peter  Bur rell;  Walpole  Eyre;  Lewis  Mendez  ; 
Dr.  Swinney;    Stephen  Lushington;    John    Gunning; 
Henry  Brougham,  father  of  Lord  Brougham ;  Dr.  Mac- 
namara;  Sir  John  Trevelyan ;  Captain  Donellan ;  Sir  W. 
Wolseley ;  Walter  Chetwynd ;  Viscount  Gage,   etc. ; — 
Thomas  Payne,  Esq.,  of  Leicester  House;  Dr.  Schom- 
berg,  of  Pall-Mail ;  George  Colman,  the  dramatist,  then 
living  in  Great  Queen  Street ;  Dr.  Dodd,  in  Southamp- 
ton-row;  James  Payne,  the  architect,  Salisbury- street, 
which  he  rebuilt ;  William  Bowyer,  the  printer,  Blooms- 
bury-square  ;    Count    Bruhl,  the  Polish  Minister ;  Dr. 
Goldsmith,  Temple  (1773),  etc.    Many  a  noted  name  in 
the  list  of  700  is  very  suggestive  of  the  gay  society  of  the 
period.  Among  the  Club  musters,  Samuel  Foote,  Sir  Tho- 
mas Robinson,  and  Dr.  Dodd  are  ver}^  frequent :  indeed. 
Sir  Thomas  seems  to  have  been  something  like  a  pro- 
poser-general. 

Tom's  appears  to  have  been  a  general  coffee-house ; 
for  in  the  parish  books  of  St.  Paul's,  Covent  Garden,  is 
the  entry  : — 

£.  s.    d. 

46  Dishes  of  chocolate 13    0 

34  Jelleys 0  17    0 

Biscuits 023 

Mr.  Haines,  the  landlord,  was  succeeded  by  his  son. 
Thomas,  whose  daughter  is  living,  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
four,  and  possesses  a  portrait,  by  Dance,  of  the  elder 
Haines,  who,  from  his  polite  address,  was  called  among 

m  2 


164  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON. 

the  Club  "  Lord  Chesterfield."     The  above  lady  has  also 
a  portrait,  in  oil,  of  the  younger  Haines,  by  Grignon. 

The  coffee-house  business  closed  in  1814,  about  which 
time  the  premises  were  first  occupied  by  Mr.  William  Till, 
the  numismatist.  The  card-room  remained  in  its  ori- 
ginal condition ;  "  And,  here,"  wrote  Mr.  Till,  many 
years  since,  "the  tables  on  which  I  exhibit  my  coins  are 
those  which  were  used  by  the  exalted  characters  whose 
names  are  extracted  from  books  of  the  Club,  still  in  pos- 
session of  the  proprietress  of  the  house."  On  the  death 
of  Mr.  Till,  Mr.  Webster  succeeded  to  the  tenancy  and 
collection  of  coins  and  medals,  which  he  removed  to 
No.  6,  Henrietta- street,  shortly  before  the  old  premises 
in  Russell-street  were  taken  down.  He  possesses,  by 
marriage  with  the  grand-daughter  of  the  second  Mr. 
Haines,  the  old  Club  books,  as  well  as  the  curious  me- 
morial, the  snuffbox  of  the  Club-room.  It  is  of  large 
size,  and  fine  tortoiseshell ;  upon  the  lid,  in  high  relief,  in 
silver,  are  the  portraits  of  Charles  I.  and  Queen  Anne; 
the  Boscobel  oak,  with  Charles  II.  amid  its  branches ; 
and  at  the  foot  of  the  tree,  on  a  silver  plate,  is  inscribed 
Thomas  Haines.  At  Will's  the  small  wits  grew  con- 
ceited if  they  dipped  but  into  Mr.  Dryden's  snuffbox ; 
and  at  Tom's  the  box  may  have  enjoyed  a  similar  shrine- 
like reputation.  It  is  nearly  all  that  remains  of  the 
old  coffee-house  in  Covent  Garden,  save  the  recollection 
of  the  names  of  the  interesting  personages  who  once 
thronged  its  rooms  in  stars  and  garters,  but  who  bore 
more  intellectual  distinctions  to  entitle  them  to  remem- 
brance. 


165 


THE   KING   OF   CLUBS. 

This  ambitious  title  was  given  to  a  Club  set  on  foot 
about  the  year  180] .  Its  founder  was  Bobus  Smith, 
the  brother  of  the  great  Sydney  Smith.  The  Club  at 
first  consisted  of  a  small  knot  of  lawyers,  a  few  literary 
characters,  and  visitors  generally  introduced  by  those 
who  took  the  chief  part  in  the  conversation,  and  seem- 
ingly selected  for  the  faculty  of  being  good  listeners. 

The  King  of  Clubs  sat  on  Saturday  of  each  month, 
at  the  Crown  and  Anchor  Tavern,  in  the  Strand,  which, 
at  that  time,  was  a  nest  of  boxes,  each  containing  its 
Club,  and  affording  excellent  cheer,  though  latterly  de- 
secrated by  indifferent  dinners  and  very  questionable 
wine.  The  Club  was  a  grand  talk,  the  prevalent  topics 
being  books  and  authors;  politics  quite  excluded.  Bobus 
Smith  was  a  convivial  member  in  every  respect  but  that 
of  wine ;  he  was  but  a  frigid  worshipper  of  Bacchus,  but 
he  had  great  humour  and  a  species  of  wit,  that  re- 
velled amidst  the  strangest  and  most  grotesque  com- 
binations. His  manner  was  somewhat  of  the  bow-wow 
kind ;  and  when  he  pounced  upon  a  disputatious  and 
dull  blockhead,  he  made  sad  work  of  him. 

Then  there  was  Richard  Sharp,  a  partner  of  Bodding- 
ton's  West  India  house,  who  subsequently  sat  in  Par- 
liament for  Port  Arlington,  in  Ireland.  He  was  a 
thinker  and  a  reasoner,  and  occasionally  controversial, 
but  overflowed  with  useful  and  agreeable  knowledge, 
and  an  unfailing  stream  of  delightful  information.  He 
was  celebrated  for  his  conversational  talents,  and  hence 
called  "  Conversation  Sharp ;"   and  he  often  had  for  his 


166  CLUB  LIFE   OF   LONDON. 

guest  Sir  James  Mackintosh,  with  whom  he  lived  in 
habits  of  intimacy.  Mr.  Sharp  published  a  volume  of 
Letters  and  Essays  in  Prose  and  Verse,  of  which  a  third 
edition  appeared  in  1834.  Sharp  was  confessedly  the 
first  of  the  King  of  Clubs.  He  indulged  but  rarely  in 
pleasantry  ;  but  when  anything  of  the  kind  escaped  him, 
it  was  sure  to  tell.  One  evening,  at  the  Club,  there  was 
a  talk  about  Tweddel,  then  a  student  in  the  Temple, 
who  had  greatly  distinguished  himself  at  Cambridge, 
and  was  the  Senior  Wrangler  and  medallist  of  his  year. 
Tweddel  was  not  a  little  intoxicated  with  his  University 
triumphs  ;  which  led  Sharp  to  remark,  "  Poor  fellow ! 
he  will  soon  find  that  his  Cambridge  medal  will  not 
pass  as  current  coin  in  London."  Other  frequent  at- 
tendants were  Scarlett  (afterwards  Lord  Abinger) ;  Ro- 
gers, the  poet ;  honest  John  Allen,  brother  of  the  bluest 
of  the  blues,  Lady  Mackintosh ;  M.  Dumont,  the  French 
emigrant,  who  would  sometimes  recite  his  friend  the 
Abbe  de  Lisle's  verses,  with  interminable  perseverance, 
in  spite  of  yawns  and  other  symptoms  of  dislike,  which 
his  own  politeness  (for  he  was  a  highly -bred  man)  for- 
bade him  to  interpret  into  the  absence  of  it  in  others. 

In  this  respect,  however,  he  was  outdone  by  Wishart, 
who  was  nothing  but  quotations,  and  whose  prosing, 
when  he  did  converse,  was  like  the  torpedo's  touch  to  all 
pleasing  and  lively  converse.  Charles  Butler,  too,  in  his 
long  life,  had  treasured  up  a  considerable  assortment  of 
reminiscences,  which,  when  once  set  going,  came  out  like 
a  torrent  upon  you ;  it  was  a  sort  of  shower-bath,  that 
inundated  you  the  moment  you  pulled  the  string. 

Curran,  the  boast  of  the  Irish  bar,  came  to  the  King 
of  Clubs,  during  a  short  visit  to  London ;  there  he  met 
Erskine,  but  the  meeting  was  not  congenial.     Curran 


THE   KING   OF   CLUBS.  167 

gave  some  odd  sketches  of  a  Serjeant  Kelly,  at  the  Irish 
bar,  whose  whimsical  peculiarity  was  an  inveterate  habit 
of  drawing  conclusions  directly  at  variance  with  his  pre- 
mises. He  had  acquired  the  name  of  Counsellor  There- 
fore. Curran  said  he  was  a  perfect  human  personification 
of  a  non  sequitur.  For  instance,  meeting  Curran,  on 
Sunday,  near  St.  Patrick's,  he  said  to  him,  "The  Arch- 
bishop gave  us  an  excellent  discourse  this  morning.  It 
was  well  written  and  well  delivered  ;  therefore,  I  shall 
make  a  point  of  being  at  the  Four  Courts  to-morrow  at 
ten."  At  another  time,  observing  to  a  person  whom  he 
met  in  the  street,  "What  a  delightful  morning  this  is 
for  walking !"  he  finished  his  remark  on  the  weather  by 
saying,  "  Therefore  I  will  go  home  as  soon  as  I  can,  and 
stir  out  no  more  the  whole  day."  His  speeches  in  Court 
were  interminable,  and  his  therefore  kept  him  going  on, 
though  every  one  thought  he  had  done.  "  This  is  so 
clear  a  point,  gentlemen,"  he  would  tell  the  jury,  "  that 
I  am  convinced  you  felt  it  to  be  so  the  very  moment  I 
stated  it.  I  should  pay  your  understandings  but  a  poor 
compliment  to  dwell  on  it  for  a  minute ;  therefore,  I  will 
now  proceed  to  explain  it  to  you  as  minutely  as  possible." 
Curran  seemed  to  have  no  very  profound  respect  for 
the  character  and  talents  of  Lord  Norbury.  Curran 
went  down  to  Carlow  on  a  special  retainer;  it  was  in  a 
case  of  ejectment.  A  new  Court-house  had  been  recently 
erected,  and  it  was  found  extremely  inconvenient,  from 
the  echo,  which  reverberated  the  mingled  voices  of  judge, 
counsel,  crier,  to  such  a  degree,  as  to  produce  constant 
confusion,  and  great  interruption  of  business.  Lord 
Norbury  had  been,  if  possible,  more  noisy  that  morning 
than  ever.  Whilst  he  was  arguing  a  point  with  the  coun- 
sel, and  talking  very  loudly,  an  ass  brayed  vehemently 


168  CLUB   LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

from  the  street,  adjoining  the  Court-house,  to  the  in- 
stant interruption  of  the  Chief- Justice.  "What  noise  is 
that?"  exclaimed  his  Lordship.  "  Oh,  my  Lord,"  re- 
torted Curran,  "  it  is  merely  the  echo  of  the  Court." 


WATIER'S    CLUB. 

This  Club  was  the  great  Macao  gambling-house  of  a 
very  short  period.  Mr.  Thomas  Raikes,  who  understood 
all  its  mysteries,  describes  it  as  very  genteel,  adding  that 
no  one  ever  quarrelled  there.  "  The  Club  did  not  endure 
for  twelve  years  altogether ;  the  pace  was  too  quick  to 
last :  it  died  a  natural  death  in  1819,  from  the  paralysed 
state  of  its  members ;  the  house  was  then  taken  by  a 
set  of  blacklegs,  who  instituted  a  common  bank  for  gam- 
bling. To  form  an  idea  of  the  ruin  produced  by  this 
short-lived  establishment  among  men  whom  I  have  so 
intimately  known,  a  cursory  glance  to  the  past  suggests 
the  following  melancholy  list,  which  only  forms  a  part  of 
its  deplorable  results.  .  .  .  None  of  the  dead  reached  the 
average  age  of  man." 

Among  the  members  was  Bligh,  a  notorious  madman, 
of  whom  Mr.  Raikes  relates : — "  One  evening  at  the 
Macao  table,  when  the  play  was  very  deep,  Brummell 
having  lost  a  considerable  stake,  affected,  in  his  farcical 
way,  a  very  tragic  air,  and  cried  out,  '  Waiter,  bring  me 
a  flat  candlestick  and  a  pistol/  Upon  which  Bligh,  who 
was  sitting  opposite  to  him,  calmly  produced  two  loaded 
pistols  from  his  coat  pocket,  which  he  placed  on  the 
table,  and  said,  '  Mr.  Brummell,  if  you  are  really  desi- 


THE   CLIFFORD-STREET   CLUB.  169 

rous  to  put  a  period  to  your  existence,,  I  am  extremely- 
happy  to  offer  you  the  means  without  troubling  the 
waiter/  The  effect  upon  those  present  may  easily  be 
imagined,  at  finding  themselves  in  the  company  of  a 
known  madman  who  had  loaded  weapons  about  him." 


MR.  CANNING  AT  THE  CLIFFORD-STREET 

CLUB. 

There  was  in  the  last  century,  a  debating  Club,  which 
boasted  for  a  short  time,  a  brighter  assemblage  of  talent 
than  is  usually  found  to  flourish  in  societies  of  this  de- 
scription. Its  meetings,  which  took  place  once  a  month, 
were  held  at  the  Clifford-street  Coffee-house,  at  the  cor- 
ner of  Bond-street.  The  debaters  were  chiefly  Mackin- 
tosh, Richard  Sharp,  a  Mr.  Ollyett  Woodhouse;  Charles 
Moore,  son  of  the  celebrated  traveller ;  and  Lord  Charles 
Townshend,  fourth  son  of  the  facetious  and  eccentric 
Marquis.  The  great  primitive  principles  of  civil  govern- 
ment were  then  much  discussed.  It  was  before  the 
French  Revolution  had  "  brought  death  into  the  world 
and  all  its  woe." 

At  the  Clifford-street  Society,  Canning  generally  took 
"  the  liberal  side  "  of  the  above  questions.  His  earliest 
prepossessions  are  well  known  to  have  inclined  to  this 
side ;  but  he  evidently  considered  the  Society  rather  as  a 
school  of  rhetorical  exercise,  where  he  might  acquire  the 
use  of  his  weapons,  than  a  forum,  where  the  serious  pro- 
fession of  opinions,  and  a  consistent  adherence  to  them, 
could  be  fairly  expected  of  him.  One  evening,  the  question 


170  CLUB   LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

for  debate  was  "  the  justice  and  expediency  of  resuming 
the  ecclesiastical  property  of  France."  Before  the  de- 
bate began,  Canning  had  taken  some  pains  to  ascer- 
tain on  which  side  the  majority  of  the  members  seemed 
inclined  to  speak;  and  finding  that  they  were  gene- 
rally in  favour  of  the  resumption,  he  expressed  his  fears 
that  the  unanimity  of  sentiment  would  spoil  the  discus- 
sion ;  so,  he  volunteered  to  speak  against  it.  He  did  so, 
and  it  was  a  speech  of  considerable  power,  chiefly  in  re- 
ply to  the  opener,  who,  in  a  set  discourse  of  some  length, 
had  asserted  the  revocable  conditions  of  the  property  of 
the  church,  which,  being  created,  he  said,  by  the  state, 
remained  ever  after  at  its  disposition.  Canning  denied 
the  proposition  that  ecclesiastical  property  was  the  crea- 
ture of  the  state.  He  contended  that  though  it  might 
be  so  in  a  new  government,  yet,  speaking  historically,  the 
great  as  well  as  lesser  ecclesiastical  fiefs  were  coeval  with 
the  crown  of  France,  frequently  strong  enough  to  main- 
tain fierce  and  not  unequal  conflicts  with  it,  and  certainly 
not  in  their  origin  emanations  from  its  bounty.  The 
church,  he  said,  came  well  dowered  to  the  state,  who  was 
now  suing  for  a  divorce,  in  order  to  plunder  her  pin- 
money.  He  contended  that  the  church  property  stood 
upon  the  same  basis,  and  ought  to  be  protected  by  the 
same  sanctions,  as  private  property.  It  was  originally,  he 
said,  accumulated  from  the  successive  donations  with 
which  a  pious  benevolence  ought  to  enrich  the  fountains, 
from  which  spiritual  comfort  ought  to  flow  to  the  wretch- 
ed, the  poor,  the  forsaken.  He  drew  an  energetic  sketch 
of  Mirabeau,  the  proposer  of  the  measure,  by  whose  side, 
he  remarked,  the  worst  characters  in  history,  the  Cleons, 
the  Catilines,  the  Cetheguses,  of  antiquity,  would  brighten 
into  virtue.     He  said  that  the  character  of  the  lawgiver 


THE   CLIFFORD-STREET   CLUB.  171 

tainted  the  law.  It  was  proffered  to  the  National  Assembly 
by  hands  hot  and  reeking  from  the  cells  of  sensuality  and 
vice ;  it  came  from  a  brain  inflamed  and  distended  into 
frenzy  by  habitual  debauchery.  These  are,  of  course,  but 
faint  sketches  of  this  very  early  specimen  of  Canning  as 
a  speaker.  Thehumour  and  irony  with  which  he  delighted 
his  auditors  are  indescribable.  He  displayed  the  same 
powers  of  pleasantry  which,  in  maturer  years,  enlivened 
the  dulness  of  debate,  and  softened  the  asperities  of  party. 
He  was,  indeed,  less  rapid,  and  more  measured  in  his 
elevation ;  sometimes  impeded  in  flow,  probably,  from 
too  fastidious  a  selection  of  words ;  but  it  was  impossi- 
ble not  to  predict  that  at  no  very  distant  period  he  would 
rise  into  high  distinction  as  a  parliamentary  speaker. 

Canning  was  then  the  most  handsome  man  about  town; 
and  his  fine  countenance  glowed,  as  he  spoke,  with  every 
sentiment  which  he  uttered.  It  was  customary  during 
the  debates  at  the  Clifford-street  Senate,  for  pots  of  porter 
to  be  introduced  by  way  of  refreshment.  Canning,  in 
his  eloquent  tirade  against  Mirabeau,  handled  the  pecu- 
liar style  of  the  Count's  oratory  with  great  severity. 
The  president  had,  during  this  part  of  Canning's  speech, 
given  a  signal  for  a  pot  of  porter,  which  had  been  brought 
in  and  placed  before  him.  It  served  Canning  for  an  il- 
lustration. "Sir/'  said  he,  "much  has  been  said  about 
the  gigantic  powers  of  Mirabeau ;  let  us  not  be  carried 
away  by  the  false  jargon  of  his  philosophy,  or  imagine 
that  deep  political  wisdom  resides  in  tumid  and  decora- 
ted diction.  To  the  steady  eye  of  a  sagacious  criticism, 
the  eloquence  of  Mirabeau  will  appear  to  be  as  empty 
and  vapid  as  his  patriotism.  It  is  like  the  beverage  that 
stands  so  invitingly  before  you, — foam  and  froth  at  the 
top,  heavy  and  muddy  within." 


172  CLUB   LIFE   OF  LONDON. 


ECCENTRIC  CLUBS. 

In  Ward's  Secret  History,  we  read  of  the  Golden 
Fleece  Club,  a  rattle-brained  society,  originally  held  at 
a  house  in  Cornhill,  so  entitled.  They  were  a  merry 
company  of  tippling  citizens  and  jocular  change- brokers, 
who  every  night  washed  away  their  consciences  with 
claret,  that  the  mental  alienations  and  fallacious  assur- 
ances the  one  had  used  in  their  shops,  and  the  deceitful 
wheedling  and  stock -jobbing  honesty  by  which  the  other 
had  outwitted  their  merchants,  might  be  no  impediment 
to  their  night's  rest  \  but  that  they  might  sleep  without 
repentance,  and  rise  next  day  with  a  strong  propensity 
to  the  same  practices.  Each  member  on  his  admission 
had  a  characteristic  name  assigned  to  him ;  as,  Sir 
Timothy  Addlepate,  Sir  Nimmy  Sneer,  Sir  Talkative 
Do-little,  Sir  Skinny  Fretwell,  Sir  Rumbus  Rattle,  Sir 
Boozy  Prate-all,  Sir  Nicholas  Ninny  Sipall,  Sir  Gregory 
Growler,  Sir  Pay-little,  etc.  The  Club  nourished  until 
the  decease  of  the  leading  member ;  when  the  dull  fra- 
ternity, for  want  of  a  merry  leader,  and  neglecting  to 
be  shaved  and  blooded,  fell  into  the  dumps,  gave  up 
their  nocturnal  revels,  forsook  frenzied  claret  for  sober 
water-gruel,  and  a  cessation  of  bumpers  was  proclaimed, 
till  those  who  were  sick  recovered  their  health,  and 
others  their  senses ;  and  then,  the  better  to  prevent 
their  debasement  being  known,  they  adjourned  their  So- 
ciety from  the  Fleece  in  Cornhill  to  the  Three  Tuns  in 
Southwark,  that  they  might  be  more  retired  from  the 
bows  and  compliments  of  the  London  apprentices,  who 


ECCENTRIC   CLUBS.  173 

used  to  salute  the  noble  knights  by  their  titles,  as  they 
passed  to  and  fro. 

Another  of  Ward's  humorous  Sketches  is  that  of  the 
Lying  Club,  at  the  Bell  Tavern,  in  Westminster,  with 
Sir  Harry  Blunt  for  its  chairman. 

The  Clubs  were  fruitful  sources  of  satire  to  the  Spec- 
tator. He  is  merry  on  the  Mummers,  the  Twopenny, 
the  Ugly,  the  Fighting,  the  Fringe-Glove,  the  Humdrum, 
the  Doldrum,  and  the  Lovers;  on  Clubs  of  Fat  Men, 
Tall  Men,  and  One-Eyed  Men,  and  of  Men  who  lived  in 
the  same  Street. 

The  pretentious  character  of  the  Clubs  of  Queen 
Anne's  time,  and  the  historical  importance  attached 
to  their  annals,  are  humorously  satirized  in  the  follow- 
ing sketch  of  the  Everlasting  Club,  to  which,  in  those 
days,  if  a  man  were  an  idle,  worthless  fellow,  who  neg- 
lected his  family,  and  spent  most  of  his  time  over  a 
bottle,  he  was,  in  derision,  said  to  belong. 

"The  Everlasting  Club  consists  of  an  hundred  mem- 
bers, who  divide  the  whole  twenty-four  hours  among 
them  in  such  a  manner,  that  the  Club  sits  day  and  night 
from  one  end  of  the  year  to  another  :  no  party  presuming 
to  rise  till  they  are  relieved  by  those  who  are  in  course 
to  succeed  them.  By  this  means,  a  member  of  the 
Everlasting  Club  never  wants  company;  for  though  he 
is  not  upon  duty  himself,  he  is  sure  to  find  some  who 
are ;  so  that  if  he  be  disposed  to  take  a  whet,  a  nooning, 
an  evening's  draught,  or  a  bottle  after  midnight,  he  goes 
to  the  Club,  and  finds  a  knot  of  friends  to  his  mind. 

"  It  is  a  maxim  in  this  Club  that  the  Steward  never 
dies ;  for  as  they  succeed  one  another  by  way  of  rotation, 
no  man  is  to  quit  the  great  elbow-chair,  which  stands 
at  the  upper  end  of  the  table,  till  his  successor  is  ready 


174  CLUB  LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

to  fill  it ;    insomuch  that  there   has  not  been  a  sede 
vacante  in  their  memory. 

"  This  Club  was  instituted  towards  the  end,  or,  as  some 
of  them  say,  about  the  middle  of  the  Civil  Wars,  and 
continued  with  interruption  till  the  time  of  the  Great 
Fire,  which  burnt  them  out  and  dispersed  them  for 
several  weeks.  The  Steward  all  that  time  maintained  his 
post  till  he  had  like  to  have  been  blown  up  with  a 
neighbouring  house,  which  was  demolished  in  order  to 
stop  the  fire  :  and  would  not  leave  the  chair  at  last,  till 
he  had  emptied  the  bottles  upon  the  table,  and  received 
repeated  directions  from  the  Club  to  withdraw  himself. 
This  Steward  is  frequently  talked  of  in  the  Club,  and 
looked  upon  by  every  member  of  it  as  a  greater  man 
than  the  famous  captain  mentioned  in  my  Lord  Claren- 
don, who  was  burnt  in  his  ship,  because  he  would  not 
quit  it  without  orders.  It  is  said  that  towards  the  close 
of  1700,  being  the  great  year  of  jubilee,  the  Club  had 
it  under  consideration  whether  they  should  break  up  or 
continue  their  session ;  but  after  many  speeches  and 
debates,  it  was  at  length  agreed  to  sit  out  the  other 
century.  This  resolution  passed  in  a  general  club 
nemine  contradicente. 

"  It  appears,  by  their  books  in  general,  that,  since  their 
first  institution,  they  have  smoked  fifty  tons  of  tobacco, 
drank  thirty  thousand  butts  of  ale,  one  thousand  hogs- 
heads of  red  port,  two  hundred  barrels  of  brandy,  and 
one  kilderkin  of  small  beer.  There  had  been  likewise  a 
great  consumption  of  cards.  It  is  also  said  that  they 
observe  the  law  in  Ben  Jonson's  Club,  which  orders 
the  fire  to  be  always  kept  in  (focus  perennis  esto),  as  well 
for  the  convenience  of  lighting  their  pipes  as  to  cure 
the  dampness  of  the   club-room.       They   have  an  old 


ECCENTRIC   CLUBS.  175 

woman,  in  the  nature  of  a  vestal,  whose  business  is  to 
cherish  and  perpetuate  the  fire,  which  burns  from  gene- 
ration to  generation,  and  has  seen  the  glass-house  fires 
in  and  out  above  an  hundred  times. 

"  The  Everlasting  Club  treats  all  other  clubs  with  an 
eye  of  contempt,  and  talks  even  of  the  Kit- K at  and 
October  as  a  couple  of  upstarts.  Their  ordinary  discourse, 
as  much  I  have  been  able  to  learn  of  it,  turns  altogether 
upon  such  adventures  as  have  passed  in  their  own 
assembly ;  of  members  who  have  taken  the  glass  in  their 
turns  for  a  week  together,  without  stirring  out  of  the 
Club ;  of  others  who  have  not  missed  their  morning's 
draught  for  twenty  years  together;  sometimes  they 
speak  in  rapture  of  a  run  of  ale  in  King  Charles's  reign  ; 
and  sometimes  reflect  with  astonishment  upon  games  at 
whist,  which  have  been  miraculously  recovered  by  mem- 
bers of  the  Society,  when  in  all  human  probability  the 
case  was  desperate. 

"  They  delight  in  several  old  catches,  which  they  sing 
at  all  hours,  to  encourage  one  another  to  moisten  their 
clay,  and  grow  immortal  by  drinking,  with  many  other 
edifying  exhortations  of  the  like  nature. 

"  There  are  four  general  Clubs  held  in  a  year,  at  which 
time  they  fill  up  vacancies,  appoint  waiters,  confirm  the 
old  fire-maker  or  elect  a  new  one,  settle  contributions 
for  coals,  pipes,  tobacco,  and  other  necessaries. 

"  The  senior  member  has  outlived  the  whole  Club 
twice  over,  and  has  been  drunk  with  the  grandfathers  of 
some  of  the  sitting  members." 

The  Lawyer's  Club  is  thus  described  in  the  Spectator, 
No.  372  : — "  This  Club  consists  only  of  attorneys,  and  at 
this  meeting  every  one  proposes  to  the  board  the  cause 
he  has  then  in  hand,  upon  which  each  member  gives  his 


176  CLUB   LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

judgment,  according  to  the  experience  he  has  met  with. 
If  it  happens  that  any  one  puts  a  case  of  which  they 
have  had  no  precedent,  it  is  noted  down  by  their  chief 
clerk,  Will  Goosequill  (who  registers  all  their  proceed- 
ings), that  one  of  them  may  go  with  it  next  day  to  a 
counsel.  This  is,  indeed,  commendable,  and  ought  to 
be  the  principal  end  of  their  meeting;  but  had  you 
been  there  to  have  heard  them  relate  their  methods  of 
managing  a  cause,  their  manner  of  drawing  out  their 
bills,  and,  in  short,  their  arguments  upon  the  several 
ways  of  abusing  their  clients,  with  the  applause  that  is 
given  to  him  who  has  done  it  most  artfully,  you  would 
before  now  have  given  your  remarks. 

"  They  are  so  conscious  that  their  discourses  ought 
to  be  kept  a  secret,  that  they  are  very  cautious  of  admit- 
ting any  person  who  is  not  in  the  profession.  When 
any  who  are  not  of  the  law  are  let  in,  the  person  who 
introduces  him  says,  he  is  a  very  honest  gentleman, 
and  he  is  taken,  as  their  cant  is,  to  pay  costs."  The 
writer  adds,  "  that  he  is  admitted  upon  the  recommenda- 
tion of  one  of  their  principals,  as  a  very  honest,  good- 
natured  fellow,  that  will  never  be  in  a  plot,  and  only 
desires  to  drink  his  bottle  and  smoke  his  pipe." 

The  Little  Club,  we  are  told  in  the  Guardian,  No.  91, 
began  by  sending  invitations  to  those  not  exceeding  five 
feet  in  height,  to  repair  to  the  assembly,  but  many  sent 
excuses,  or  pretended  a  non- application.  They  proceeded 
to  fit  up  a  room  for  their  accommodation,  and  in  the 
first  place  had  all  the  chairs,  stools,  and  tables  removed, 
which  had  served  the  more  bulky  portion  of  mankind 
for  many  years,  previous  to  which  they  laboured  under 
very  great  disadvantages.  The  President's  whole  per- 
son was  sunk  in  the  elbow-chair,  and  when  his  arms 


ECCENTKIC    CLUBS.  177 

were  spread  over  it,  he  appeared  (to  the  great  lessening 
of  his  dignity)  like  a  child  in  a  go-cart.  It  was  also  so 
wide  in  the  seat,  as  to  give  a  wag  occasion  of  saying, 
that  "  notwithstanding  the  President  sat  in  it,  there  was 
a  sede  vacante."  "  The  table  was  so  high,  that  one  who 
came  by  chance  to  the  door,  seeing  our  chins  just  above 
the  pewter  dishes,  took  us  for  a  circle  of  men  that  sat 
ready  to  be  shaved,  and  set  in  half-a-dozen  of  barbers. 
Another  time,  one  of  the  Club  spoke  contumeliously  of 
the  President,  imagining  he  had  been  absent,  when  he 
was  only  eclipsed  by  a  flask  of  Florence,  which  stood  on 
the  table,  in  a  parallel  line  before  his  face.  We  there- 
fore new-furnished  the  room,  in  all  respects  propor- 
tionably  to  us,  and  had  the  door  made  lower,  so  as  to 
admit  no  man  above  five  feet  high,  without  brushing  his 
foretop ;  which,  whoever  does,  is  utterly  unqualified  to 
sit  amongst  us." 

Mr.  Daniel,  in  his  Merrie  England  in  the  Olden  Time, 
has  collected  a  further  list  of  Clubs  existing  in  London 
in  1790.  He  enumerates  the  following: — The  Odd 
Fellows'  Club  ;  the  Humbugs  (held  at  the  Blue  Posts,  in 
Covent-Garden) ;  the  Samsonic  Society  ;  the  Society  of 
Bucks;  the  Purl  Drinkers ;  the  Society  of  Pilgrims  (held 
at  the  Woolpack,  in  the  Kingsland-road) ;  the  Thespian 
Club ;  the  Great  Bottle  Club ;  the  Je  ne  scai  quoi  Club 
(held  at  the  Star  and  Garter  in  Pail-Mall,  and  of  which 
the  Prince  of  Wales,  and  the  Dukes  of  York,  Clarence, 
Orleans,  Norfolk,  Bedford,  etc.,  were  members) ;  the 
Sons  of  the  Thames  Society  ;  the  Blue  Stocking  Club ; 
the  No  Pay  No  Liquor  Club  (held  at  the  Queen  and 
and  Artichoke,  in  the  Hampstead-road,  and  of  which 
the  ceremony,  on  a  new  member's  introduction,  was, 
after  his  paying  a  fee  on  entrance  of  one  shilling,  that 

vol.  r.  N 


178  CLUB   LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

he  should  wear  a  hat,  throughout  the  first  evening,  made 
in  the  shape  of  a  quart  pot,  and  drink  to  the  health  of 
his  brother  members  in  a  gilt  goblet  of  ale)  ;  the  Social 
Villagers  (held  at  the  Bedford  Arms,  in  Camden- town), 
etc.  Of  the  Villagers  of  our  time,  Sheridan  Knowles, 
the  dramatist,  was  a  jovial  member. 


JACOBITE   CLUB. 

In  the  year  1854  a  Correspondent  of  Notes  and  Queries 
communicated  to  that  journal  the  following  interesting 
reminiscences  of  a  political  Club,  with  characteristics  of 
the  reminiscent. 

"  The  adherents  of  the  Stuarts  are  now  nearly  ex- 
tinct ;  but  I  recollect  a  few  years  ago  an  old  gentleman 
in  London,  who  was  then  upwards  of  eighty  years  of 
age,  and  who  was  a  staunch  Jacobite.  I  have  heard 
him  say  that,  when  he  was  a  young  man,  his  father 
belonged  to  a  society  in  Aid ersgate- street,  called  '  The 
Mourning  Bush ;'  and  this  Bush  was  to  be  always  in 
mourning  until  the  Stuarts  were  restored."  A  member 
of  this  society  having  been  met  in  mourning  when  one 
of  the  reigning  family  had  died,  was  asked  by  one  of  the 
members  how  it  so  happened  ?  His  reply  was,  "  that  he 
was  not  mourning  for  the  dead,  but  for  the  living." 
The  old  gentleman  was  father  of  the  Mercers'  Com- 
pany, and  his  brother  of  the  Stationers'  Company  :  they 
were  bachelors,  and  citizens  of  the  old  school,  hospita- 
ble, liberal,  and  charitable.  An  instance  occurred  that 
the  latter  had  a  presentation  to  Christ's  Hospital :  he 


THE   WITTINAGEMOT.  179 

was  applied  to  in  behalf  of  a  person  who  had  a  large 
family ;  but  the  father  not  being  a  freeman,  he  could 
not  present  it  to  the  son.  He  immediately  bought  the 
freedom  for  the  father,  and  gave  the  son  the  presenta- 
tion. This  is  a  rare  act.  The  brothers  have  long  gone 
to  receive  the  reward  of  their  goodness,  and  lie  buried  in 
the  cemetery  attached  to  Mercers'  Hall,  Cheapside." 

By  the  above  statement,  the  Club  appears  to  have 
taken  the  name  of  the  Mourning  Bush  Tavern,  in  Al- 
dersgate,  of  which  we  shall  have  more  to  say  hereafter. 


THE  WITTINAGEMOT  OF  THE  CHAPTER 
COFFEE-HOUSE. 

The  Chapter  Coffee-house,  at  the  corner  of  Chapter- 
house Court,  on  the  south  side  of  Paternoster-row,  was, 
in  the  last  century,  noted  as  the  resort  of  men  of  letters, 
and  was  famous  for  its  punch,  pamphlets,  and  good  sup-, 
ply  of  newspapers.  It  was  closed  as  a  coffee-house  in 
1854,  and  then  altered  to  a  tavern.  Its  celebrity,  how- 
ever, lay  in  the  last  century.  In  the  Connoisseur, 
January  31,  1754,  we  read  :  "The  Chapter  Coffee-house 
is  frequented  by  those  encouragers  of  literature,  and  (as 
they  are  styled  by  an  eminent  critic)  l  not  the  worst 
judges  of  merit/  the  booksellers.  The  conversation 
here  naturally  turns  upon  the  newest  publications ;  but 
their  criticisms  are  somewhat  singular.  When  they  say 
a  good  book,  they  do  not  mean  to  praise  the  style  or 
sentiment,  but  the  quick  and  extensive  sale  of  it.  That 
book  is  best  which  sells  most ;  and  if  the  demand  for 

n  2 


180  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON. 

Quarles  should  be  greater  than  for  Pope,  lie  would  have 
the  highest  place  ou  the  rubric-post." 

The  house  was  much  frequeuted  by  Chatterton,  who 
writes  to  his  mother :  "  I  am  quite  familiar  at  the 
Chapter  Coffee-house,  and  know  all  the  geniuses  there ;" 
and  to  Mr.  Mason :  "  Send  me  whatever  you  would 
have  published,  and  direct  for  me,  to  be  left  at  the 
Chapter  Coffee-house,  Paternoster-row."  And,  writing 
from  "King's  Bench  for  the  present,"  May  14th,  1770, 
Chatterton  says  :  "  A  gentleman  who  knows  me  at  the 
Chapter,  as  an  author,  would  have  introduced  me  as  a 
companion  to  the  young  Duke  of  Northumberland,  in 
his  intended  general  tour.  But,  alas  !  I  spake  no  tongue 
but  my  own." 

Forster  relates  an  anecdote  of  Oliver  Goldsmith  being 
paymaster  at  the  Chapter,  for  Churchill's  friend,  Lloyd, 
who,  in  his  careless  way,  without  a  shilling  to  pay  for 
the  entertainment,  had  invited  him  to  sup  with  some 
friends  of  Grub-street. 

The  Club  celebrity  of  the  Chapter  was,  however,  the 
Wittinagemot,  as  the  box  in  the  north-east  corner  of  the 
coffee-room  was  designated.  Among  its  frequenters  was 
Alexander  Stevens,  editor  of  the  Annual  Biography  and 
Obituary,  who  died  in  1824,  and  who  left  among  his 
papers,  printed  in  the  Monthly  Magazine,  as  "  Stephen- 
siana,"  his  recollections  of  the  Chapter,  which  he  fre- 
quented in  1797  to  1805,  where,  he  tells*  us,  he  always 
met  with  intelligent  company.  We  give  his  reminis- 
cences almost  in  his  own  words. 

Early  in  the  morning  it  was  occupied  by  neighbours, 
who  were  designated  the  Wet  Paper  Club,  as  it  was 
their  practice  to  open  the  papers  when  brought  in  by 
the  newsmen,  and  read  them  before  they  were  dried  by 


THE    WITTINAGEMOT.  181 

the  waiter ;  a  dry  paper  they  viewed  as  a  stale  commo- 
dity. In  the  afternoon,  another  party  enjoyed  the  wet 
evening  papers ;  and  (says  Stephens)  it  was  these  whom 
I  met. 

Dr.  Buchan,  author  of  Domestic  Medicine,  generally 
held  a  seat  in  this  box ;  and  though  he  was  a  Tory,  he 
heard  the  freest  discussion  with  good  humour,  and  com- 
monly acted  as  a  moderator.  His  fine  physiognomy, 
and  his  white  hairs,  qualified  him  for  this  office.  But 
the  fixture  in  the  box  was  a  Mr.  Hammond,  a  Coventry 
manufacturer,  who,  evening  after  evening,  for  nearly 
forty-five  years,  was  always  to  be  found  in  his  place, 
and  during  the  entire  period  was  much  distinguished  for 
his  severe  and  often  able  strictures  on  the  events  of  the 
day.  He  had  thus  debated  through  the  days  of  Wilkes, 
of  the  American  war,  and  of  the  French  war,  and  being 
on  the  side  of  liberty,  was  constantly  in  opposition.  His 
mode  of  arguing  was  Socratic,  and  he  generally  applied 
to  his  adversary  the  reductio  ad  absurdum,  creating  bursts 
of  laughter. 

The  registrar  or  chronicler  of  the  box  was  a  Mr. 
Murray,  an  episcopal  Scotch  minister,  who  generally  sat 
in  one  place  from  nine  in  the  morning  till  nine  at  night ; 
and  was  famous  for  having  read,  at  least  once  through, 
every  morning  and  evening  paper  published  in  London 
during  the  last  thirty  years.  His  memory  being  good, 
he  was  appealed  to  whenever  any  point  of  fact  within  the 
memory  of  man  happened  to  be  disputed.  It  was  often 
remarked,  however,  that  such  incessant  daily  reading  did 
not  tend  to  clear  his  views. 

Among  those  from  whom  I  constantly  profited  was 
Dr.  Berdmore,  the  Master  of  the  Charterhouse  ;  Walker, 
the  rhetorican ;  and  Dr.  Towers,  the  political  and  his- 


182  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON, 

torical  writer.  Dr.  B.  abounded  in  anecdote;  Walker, 
(the  Dictionary-maker,)  to  the  finest  enunciation  united 
the  most  intelligent  head  I  ever  met  with ;  and  Towers, 
over  his  half-pint  of  Lisbon,  was  sarcastic  and  lively, 
though  never  deep. 

Among  our  constant  visitors  was  the  celebrated  Dr. 
George  Fordyce,  who,  having  much  fashionable  practice, 
brought  news  which  had  not  generally  transpired.  He 
had  not  the  appearance  of  a  man  of  genius,  nor  did  he 
debate,  but  he  possessed  sound  information  on  all  sub- 
jects. He  came  to  the  Chapter  after  taking  his  wine,  and 
stayed  about  an  hour,  or  while  he  sipped  a  glass  of  brandy- 
and-water ;  it  was  then  his  habit  to  take  another  glass 
at  the  London  Coffee-house,  and  a  third  at  the  Oxford, 
before  he  returned  to  his  house  in  Essex-street,  Strand. 

Dr.  Gower,  the  urbane  and  able  physician  of  the  Mid- 
dlesex, was  another  pretty  constant  visitor.  It  was  gra- 
tifying to  hear  such  men  as  Fordyce,  Gower,  and  Buchan 
in  familiar  chat.  On  subjects  of  medicine  they  seldom 
agreed,  and  when  such  were  started,  they  generally 
laughed  at  one  another's  opinions.  They  seemed  to  con- 
sider Chapter  punch,  orbrandy-and-water,  as  aquavitce ; 
and,  to  the  credit  of  the  house,  better  punch  could  not 
be  found  in  London.  If  any  one  complained  of  being 
indisposed,  the  elder  Buchan  exclaimed,  "Now  let  me 
prescribe  for  you  without  a  fee.     Here,  John  or  Isaac, 

bring    a  glass  of  punch  for  Mr.  ,  unless  he  likes 

brandy-and-water  better.  Take  that,  Sir,  and  I'll  war- 
rant you  you'll  soon  be  well.  Yon're  a  peg  too  low ; 
you  want  stimulus,  and  if  one  glass  won't  do,  call  for 
a  second." 

There  was  a  growling  man  of  the  name  of  Dobson, 
who,  when  his  asthma  permitted,  vented  his  spleen  upon 


THE   WITTINAGEMOT.  183 

both  sides  ;  and  a  lover  of  absurd  paradoxes,  author  of 
some  works  of  merit,  but  so  devoid  of  principle,  that,  de- 
serted by  his  friends,  he  would  have  died  for  want,  if  Dr. 
Garthshore  had  not  placed  him  as  a  patient  in  the  empty 
Fever  Institution. 

Robinson,  the  king  of  the  booksellers,  was  frequently 
of  the  party,  as  well  as  his  brother  John,  a  man  of  some 
talent ;  and  Joseph  Johnson,  the  friend  of  Priestley,  and 
Paine,  and  Cowper,  and  Fuseli,  came  from  St.  Paul's 
Churchyard. 

Phillips,  then  commencing  his  Monthly  Magazine,  was 
also  on  a  keen  look-out  for  recruits,  and  with  his  waist- 
coat pocket  full  of  guineas,  to  slip  his  enlistment  money 
into  their  hand.  Phillips,  in  the  winter  of  1795-6, 
lodged  and  boarded  at  the  Chapter,  and  not  only  knew 
the  characters  referred  to  by  Mr.  Stephens,  but  many 
others  equally  original,  from  the  voracious  glutton  in 
politics,  who  waited  for  the  wet  papers  in  the  morning 
twilight,  to  the  comfortless  bachelor,  who  sat  till  the  fire 
was  raked  out  at  half- past  twelve  at  night,  all  of  whom 
took  their  successive  stations,  like  figures  in  a  magic 
lantern. 

Alexander  Chalmers,  the  workman  of  the  Robinsons, 
and  through  their  introduction  editor  of  many  large 
books,  also  enlivened  the  box  by  many  sallies  of  wit 
and  humour.  He  always  took  much  pains  to  be  dis- 
tinguished from  his  namesake  George,  who,  he  used  to 
say,  carried,  "  the  leaden  mace/'  and  he  was  much  pro- 
voked whenever  he  happened  to  be  mistaken  for  his 
namesake. 

Cahusac,  a  teacher  of  the  classics  ;  M'Leod,  a  writer 
in  the  newspapers ;  the  two  Parrys,  of  the  Courier,  the 
organ  of  Jacobinism ;  and  Captain  Skinner,  a  man  of 


181  CLUB   LIFE    OF   LONDON. 

elegant  manners,  who  personated  our  nation  in  the  pro- 
cession of  Anacharsis  Clootz,  at  Paris,  in  1793,  were  also 
in  constant  attendance. 

One  Baker,  once  a  Spitalfields  manufacturer,  a  great 
talker,  and  not  less  remarkable  as  an  eater,  was  constant ; 
but,  having  shot  himself  at  his  lodgings  in  Kirby-street, 
it  was  discovered  that,  for  some  years,  he  had  had  no 
other  meal  per  day  besides  the  supper  which  he  took  at 
the  Chapter,  where  there  being  a  choice  of  viands  at  the 
fixed  price  of  one  shilling,  this,  with  a  pint  of  porter, 
constituted  his  daily  subsistence,  till,  his  last  resources 
failing,  he  put  an  end  to  himself. 

Lowndes,  the  celebrated  electrician,  was  another  of  our 
set,  and  a  facetious  man.  Buchan  the  younger,  a  son 
of  the  Doctor,  generally  came  with  Lowndes ;  and  though 
somewhat  dogmatical,  yet  he  added  to  the  variety  and 
good  intelligence  of  our  discussions,  which,  from  the 
mixture  of  company,  were  as  various  as  the  contents  of 
the  newspapers. 

Dr.  Busby,  the  musician,  and  an  ingenious  man,  often 
obtained  a  hearing,  and  was  earnest  in  disputing  with  the 
Tories.  And  Macfarlane,  the  author  of  the  History  of 
George  the  Third,  was  generally  admired  for  the  sound- 
ness of  his  views ;  but  this  worthy  man  was  killed  by  the 
pole  of  a  coach,  during  an  election  procession  of  Sir 
Francis  Burdett,  from  Brentford.  Mr.  W.  Cooke,  author 
of  Conversation,  constantly  exemplified  his  own  rules 
in  his  gentlemanly  manners  and  well-timed  anecdotes. 

Kelly,  an  Irish  school-master,  and  a  man  of  polished 
manners,  kept  up  warm  debates  by  his  equivocating  po- 
litics, and  was  often  roughly  handled  by  Hammond  and 
others,  though  he  bore  his  defeats  with  constant  good 
humour. 


THE   WITTINAGEMOT.  185 

There  was  a  young  man  named  Wilson,  who  acquired 
the  distinction  of  Long-bow,  from  the  number  of  extra- 
ordinary secrets  of  the  haut  ton,  which  he  used  to  retail 
by  the  hour.  He  was  an  amusing  person,  who  seemed 
likely  to  prove  an  acquisition  to  the  Wittinagemot ;  but, 
having  run  up  a  score  of  thirty  or  forty  pounds,  he  sud- 
denly absented  himself.  Miss  Brun,  the  keeper  of  the 
Chapter,  begged  me,  if  I  met  with  Wilson,  to  tell  him 
she  would  give  him  a  receipt  for  the  past,  and  furthei 
credit  to  any  amount,  if  he  would  only  return  to  the 
house;  "for,"  said  she,  "  if  he  never  paid  us,  he  was  one 
of  the  best  customers  we  ever  had,  contriving,  by  his 
stories  and  conversation,  to  keep  a  couple  of  boxes 
crowded  the  whole  night,  by  which  we  made  more  punch 
and  more  brandy-and-water,  than  from  any  other  single 
cause  whatever." 

Jacob,  afterwards  an  alderman  and  M.P.,  was  a  fre- 
quent visitor,  and  then  as  remarkable  for  his  heretical, 
as  he  was  subsequently  for  his  orthodox,  opinions  in  his 
speeches  and  writings. 

Waithman,  the  active  and  eloquent  Common  Council- 
man, often  mixed  with  us,  and  was  always  clear-headed 
and  agreeable.  One  James,  who  had  made  a  large  for- 
tune by  vending  tea,  contributed  many  good  anecdotes 
of  the  age  of  Wilkes. 

Several  stockbrokers  visited  us ;  and  among  others  of 
that  description  was  Mr.  Blake,  the  banker,  of  Lombard- 
street,  a  remarkably  intelligent  old  gentleman ;  and 
there  was  a  Mr.  Paterson,  a  North  Briton,  a  long- 
headed speculator,  who  taught  mathematics  to  Pitt. 

Some  young  men  of  talent  came  among  us  from  time 
to  time;  as  Lovett,  a  militia  officer;  Hennell,  a  coal 
merchant,  and  some  others ;  and  these  seemed  likely  to 


186  CLUB   LIFE    OF   LONDON. 

keep  up  the  party.  But  all  things  have  an  end :  Dr. 
Buchan  died ;  some  young  sparks  affronted  our  Nestor, 
Hammond,  on  which  he  absented  himself,  after  nearly 
fifty  years'  attendance;  and  the  noisy  box  of  the 
Wittinagemot  was,  for  some  years  previously  to  1820, 
remarkable  for  its  silence  and  dulness.  The  two  or 
three  last  times  I  was  at  the  Chapter,  I  heard  no  voice 
above  a  whisper;  and  I  almost  shed  a  tear  on  thinking 
of  men,  habits,  and  times  gone  by  for  ever  ! 

We  shall  have  more  to  say  of  the  Chapter  Coffee- 
house in  Vol.  II. 


THE   ROXBURGHE   CLUB   DINNERS. 

The  Roxburghe  Club  claims  its  foundation  from  the 
sale  of  the  library  of  the  late  John,  Duke  of  Roxburghe, 
in  1812,  which  extended  to  forty-one  days  following, 
with  a  supplementary  catalogue  beginning  Monday, 
July  13,  with  the  exception  of  Sundays.  Some  few 
days  before  the  sale,  the  Rev.  Thomas  Frognall  Dibdin, 
who  claimed  the  title  of  founder  of  the  Club,  suggested 
the  holding  of  a  convivial  meeting  at  the  St.  Alban's 
Tavern  after  the  sale  of  June  17th,  upon  which  day  was 
to  be  sold  the  rarest  lot,  "  II  Decamerone  di  Boccaccio," 
which  produced  £2260.  The  invitation  ran  thus : — 
"  The  honour  of  your  company  is  requested,  to  dine  with 
the  Roxburghe  dinner,  on  Wednesday,  the  ]  7th  instant." 
At  the  first  dinner  the  number  of  members  was  limited 
to  twenty- four,  which  at  the  second  dinner  was  extended 
to  thirty-one.      The   president  of  this  club  was  Lord 


THE   ROXBURGHE   CLUB  DINNERS.  187 

Spencer :  among  the  other  celebrated  members  were  the 
Duke  of  Devonshire,  the  Marquis  of  Blandford,  Lord 
.^lthorp,  Lord  Morpeth,  Lord  Gower,  Sir  Mark  Sykes, 
Sir  Egerton  Brydges,  Mr.  (afterwards)  Baron  Bolland, 
Mr.  Dent,  the  Rev.  T.  C.  Heber,  Rev.  Rob.  Holwell 
Carr,  Sir  Walter  Scott,  etc. ;  Dr.  Dibdin,  secretary. 

The  avowed  object  of  the  Club  was  the  reprinting  of 
rare  and  ancient  pieces  of  ancient  literature ;  and,  at 
one  of  the  early  meetings,  "it  was  proposed  and  con- 
cluded for  each  member  of  the  Club  to  reprint  a  scarce 
piece  of  ancient  lore,  to  be  given  to  the  members,  one 
copy  being  on  vellum  for  the  chairman,  and  only  as 
many  copies  as  members." 

It  may,  however,  be  questioned  whether  "the  dinners" 
of  the  Club  were  not  more  important  than  the  literature. 
They  were  given  at  the  St.  Alban's,  at  Grillion's,  at  the 
Clarendon,  and  the  Albion,  taverns ;  the  Amphy Prions  ■ 
evincing  as  recherche  taste  in  the  carte,  as  the  Club  did 
in  their  vellum  reprints.  Of  these  entertainments  some 
curious  details  have  been  recorded  by  the  late  Mr. 
Joseph  Haslewood,  one  of  the  members,  in  a  MS.  en- 
titled, e(  Roxburghe  Revels ;  or,  an  Account  of  the 
Annual  Display,  culinary  and  festivous,  interspersed 
incidentally  with  Matters  of  Moment  or  Merriment." 
This  MS.  was,  in  1833,  purchased  by  the  Editor  of  the 
Athenceum,  and  a  selection  from  its  rarities  was  subse- 
quently printed  in  that  journal.  Among  the  memo- 
randa, we  find  it  noted  that,  at  the  second  dinner,  a  few 
tarried,  with  Mr.  Heber  in  the  chair,  until,  "  on  arriving 
at  home,  the  click  of  time  bespoke  a  quarter  to  four." 
Among  the  early  members  was  the  Rev.  Mr.  Dodd,  one 
of  the  masters  of  Westminster  School,  who,  until  the 
year  1818    (when   he   died),  enlivened    the   Club  with 


1SS 


CLUB   LIFE   OF  LONDON. 


Robin-Hood  ditties  and  similar  productions.  The  fourth 
dinner  was  given  at  Grillion's,  when  twenty  members 
assembled,  under  the  chairmanship  of  Sir  Mark  Master- 
man  Sykes.  The  bill  on  this  occasion  amounted  to 
£57,  or  £2.  17  s.  per  man;  and  the  twenty  " lions" 
managed  to  dispose  of  drinkables  to  the  extent  of  about 
i£33.  The  reckoning,  by  Grillion's  French  waiter,  is 
amusing  : — 

Dinner  du  17  Juin  1815. 

2  Boutelle  de  Bour- 

gogne     . 
(Not  legible) 
Soder     .     . 
Biere  e  Ail 
Por  la  Lettre 
Pour  faire  un  prune 
Pour  un  fiacre 


20     ......     . 

200 

0 

20 

0 

Deu  sorte  de  Glasse 

1    4 

0 

Glasse  pour  6      .     . 

0    4 

0 

5  Boutelle  de  Cham- 

pagne     .... 

4    0 

0 

7   Boutelle   de  har- 

metage    .... 

5     5 

0 

1  Boutelle  de  Hok  . 

0  15 

0 

4  Boutelle  de  Port  . 

1     6 

0 

4  Boutelle  deMaderre  2     0 

0 

22  Boutelle  de  Bor- 

deaux    .... 

15     8 

0 

.     .     1  12 

0 

.     .    0  14 

0 

..02 

0 

..06 

0 

..02 

0 

•une     0     6 

0 

..02 

0 

Waiters 


55     6 
1  14 


57    0    0 


The  anniversary  of  1818  was  celebrated  at  the  Albion, 
in  Aldersgate-street :  Mr.  Heber  was  in  the  chair,  and 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Carr  vice,  vice  Dr.  Dibdin.  Although 
only  fifteen  sat  down,  they  seem  to  have  eaten  and  drunk 
for  the  whole  Club  :  it  was,  as  Wordsworth  says,  "  forty 
feeding  like  one  ;*'  and  the  bill,  at  the  conclusion  of  the 
night,  amounted  to  j£85.  9s.  6d.  "Your  cits,"  says 
Mr.  Haslewood,  "  are  the  only  men  for  a  feast ;  and, 
therefore,  behold  us,  like  locusts,  travelling  to  devour 
the  good  things  of  the  land,  eastward  ho  !  At  a  little 
after  seven,  with  our  fancies  much  delighted,  we  fifteen 
sat  down." 


THE   ROXBURGHE   CLUB   DINNERS. 
The  bill  of  fare  was  as  follows : — 


189 


Turtle  Cutlets. 

Boiled  Chickens. 
Saute  of  Haddock. 

Turtle. 
Tendrons  of  Lamb. 

Tongue. 
Turtle  Fin. 


FIRST    COURSE. 

Turtle* 
Turbot. 


Frame. 


John  Dory. 


Turtle  Fin. 

Ham. 

Chartreuse. 

Turtle. 

Fillets  of  Whitings. 

R.  Chickens. 
Fricandeau  of  Turtle. 


Turtle* 

t|t  Cold  Roast  Beef  on  Side  Tables. 

*  These  Tureens  were  removed  for  two  dishes  of  White  Bait. 


SECOND    COURSE. 

Venison  (2  Haunches). 

THIRD    COURSE. 

. 

Larded  Poults. 
Tart. 

Artichoke  bottoms. 

Cheese  Cakes. 

Jelly. 

Prawns. 

R.  Quails. 

R.  Leveret. 

Salade  Italienne. 

Creme  Italienne. 

Cabinet  Pudding. 

Peas. 
R.  Goose. 

• 
Tourt. 

The  bill,  as  a  specimen  of  the  advantages  of  separate 
charges,  as  well  as  on  other  accounts,  may  be  worth 
preserving : — 


100 


CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON. 


Albion  House. 


June  17, 

Bread  and  Beer  ..090 

Dinners      ....  9     9  0 
Cheas  and  Butter    .090 

Lemons      ....  0     3  0 

Strong  Beer   ...  0    9  0 

Madeira     ....  3     3  0 

Champagne     ...  2  11  0 

Saturne  (sic  in  MS.)  14  0 

Old  Hock  ....  4  16  0 

Burgundy  ....  0  18  0 

Hermitage      ...  0  18  0 

Silery  Champagne  .  0  16  0 

Sherry 0     7  0 

St.  Percy  ....  2  11  0 

Old  Port    ....  2     9  0 

Claret 11     4  0 

Turtle  Punch      .     .  0  15  0 

Waxlights       ...  2  10  0 

Desert 6    6  0 


1818. 

Pine-ice  creams  .     .     1  16    0 
Tea  and  Coffee    ..180 
Liqueures ....     0  14     0 
2  Haunches  of  Veni- 
son      10  10    0 

Sweet     sauce     and 

dressing ....  1  4  0 
50  lbs.  Turtle  .  .  12  10  0 
Dressing  do.  .  .  .220 
Ice  for  Wine  ...  0  6  0 
Rose  Water  ...  0  5  0 
Soda  Water  ...  0  12  0 
Lemons   and   Sugar 

fordo 0     3     0 

Broken  Glass  ..056 
Servants'  dinners  .070 
Waiters      ....100 

85     9     6 


"  Consider,  in  the  birdVeye  view  of  the  banquet, 
(says  Mr.  Haslewood,)  the  trencher  cuts,  foh !  nankeen 
displays ;  as  intersticed  with  many  a  brilliant  drop  to 
friendly  beck  and  clubbish  hail,  to  moisten  the  viands, 
or  cool  the  incipient  cayenne.  No  unfamished  livery- 
man would  desire  better  dishes,  or  high-tasted  courtier 
better  wines.  With  men  that  meet  to  commune,  that 
can  converse,  and  each  willing  to  give  and  receive  infor- 
mation, more  could  not  be  wanting  to  promote  well- 
tempered  conviviality ;  a  social  compound  of  mirth,  wit, 
and  wisdom  ; — combining  all  that  Anacreon  was  famed 
for,  tempered  with  the  reason  of  Demosthenes,  and 
intersected  with  the  archness  of  Scaliger.  It  is  true  we 
had  not  any  Greek  verses  in  praise  of  the  grape ;  but  we 


THE   ROXBURGHE   CLUB  DINNERS.  191 

had  as  a  tolerable  substitute  the  ballad  of  the  Bishop  of 
Hereford  and  Robin  Hood,  sung  by  Mr.  Dodd ;  and  it 
was  of  his  own  composing.  It  is  true  we  had  not  any 
long  oration  denouncing  the  absentees,  the  Cabinet 
council,  or  any  other  set  of  men,  but  there  was  not  a 
man  present  that  at  one  hour  and  seventeen  minutes 
after  the  cloth  was  removed  but  could  not  have  made  a 
Demosthenic  speech  far  superior  to  any  record  of  anti- 
quity. It  is  true  no  trait  of  wit  is  going  to  be  here  pre- 
served, for  the  flashes  were  too  general ;  and  what  is  the 
critical  sagacity  of  Scaliger,  compared  to  our  chairman  ? 
Ancients,  believe  it  we  were  not  dead  drunk,  and  there- 
fore lie  quiet  under  the  table  for  once,  and  let  a  few 
moderns  be  uppermost. 

"  According  to  the  long-established  principles  of 
'Maysterre  Cockerre/  each  person  had  £5.  14s.  to  pay 
— a  tremendous  sum,  and  much  may  be  said  thereon." 

Earl  Spencer  presided  at  the  dinner  which  followed 
the  sale  of  the  Valdarfer  Boccaccio :  twenty-one  mem- 
bers sat  down  to  table  at  Jaquiere's  (the  Clarendon),  and 
the  bill  was  comparatively  moderate,  £55.  13s.  Mr. 
Haslewood  says,  with  characteristic  sprightliness  : 
"Twenty-one  members  met  joyfully,  dined  comfortably, 
challenged  eagerly,  tippled  prettily,  divided  regretfully, 
and  paid  the  bill  most  cheerfully." 

The  following  is  the  list  of  "  Tostes,"  given  at  the 
first  Dinner,  in  1812  : — 


&ty  (Bxtizx  of  se  States. 

The  Immortal  Memory  of  John  Duke  of  Roxburghe. 

Christopher  Valdarfer,  Printer  of  the  Decameron  of  1471. 

Gutemberg,  Fust,  and  Schaeffher,  the  Inventors  of 

the  Art  of  Printing. 


192  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON. 

William  Caxton,  the  Father  of  the  British  Press. 

Dame  Juliana  Barnes,  and  the  St.  Alban's  Press. 

Wynkyn  de  Worde  and  Richard  Pynson,  the  Illustrious 

Successors  of  William  Caxton. 

The  Aldine  Family,  at  Venice. 

The  Giunta  Family  at  Florence. 

The  Society  of  the  Bibliophiles  at  Paris. 

The  Prosperity  of  the  Roxburghe  Club. 

The  Cause  of  Bibliomania  all  over  the  World. 

To  show  that  the  pursuits  of  the  R/Oxburghe  Club 
have  been  estimated  with  a  difference,  we  quote  what 
may  be  termed  "another  side  of  the  question": — 

"  Among  other  follies  of  the  age  of  paper,  which  took 
place  in  England  at  the  end  of  the  reign  of  George  III., 
a  set  of  book-fanciers,  who  had  more  money  than  wit, 
formed  themselves  into  a  club,  and  appropriately  desig- 
nated themselves  the  Bibliomaniacs.  Dr.  Dibdin  was 
their  organ ;  and  among  the  club  were  several  noble- 
men, who,  in  other  respects,  were  esteemed  men  of 
sense.  Their  rage  was,  not  to  estimate  books  according 
to  their  intrinsic  worth,  but  for  their  rarity.  Hence, 
any  volume  of  the  vilest  trash,  which  was  scarce,  merely 
because  it  never  had  any  sale,  fetched  fifty  or  a  hundred 
pounds ;  but  if  it  were  but  one  of  two  or  three  known 
copies,  no  limits  could  be  set  to  the  price.  Books 
altered  in  the  title-page,  or  in  a  leaf,  or  any  trivial  cir- 
cumstance which  varied  a  few  copies,  were  bought  by 
these  soidisarU  maniacs,  at  one,  two,  or  three  hundred 
pounds,  though  the  copies  were  not  really  worth  more 
than  threepence  per  pound.  A  trumpery  edition  of 
Boccaccio,  said  to  be  one  of  two  known  copies,  was  thus 
bought  by  a  noble  marquis  for  j^1475,  though  in  two  or 
three  years  afterwards  he  resold  it  for  £500.  First 
editions  of  all  authors,  and  editions  by  the  first  clumsy 


THE   SOCIETY   OF  PAST   OVEESEEKS.  193 

printers,  were  never  sold  for  less  than   £50,  .£100,  or 
J200. 

"  To  keep  each  other  in  countenance,  these  persons 
formed  themselves  into  a  club,  and,  after  a  Duke,  one  of 
their  fraternity,  called  themselves  the  Roxburghe  Club. 
To  gratify  them,  facsimile  copies  of  clumsy  editions  of 
trumpery  books  were  reprinted ;  and,  in  some  cases,  it 
became  worth  the  while  of  more  ingenious  persons  to 
play  off  forgeries  upon  them.  This  mania  after  awhile 
abated ;  and,  in  future  ages,  it  will  be  ranked  with  the 
tulip  and  the  picture  mania,  during  which,  estates  were 
given  for  single  flowers  and  pictures." 

The  Roxburghe  Club  still  exists ;  and,  with  the  Dilet- 
tanti Society,  may  justly  be  said  to  have  suggested  the 
Publishing  Societies  of  the  present  day,  at  the  head  of 
which  is  the  Camden.  The  late  Duke  of  Devonshire 
was  a  munificent  member  of  the  Roxburghe. 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  PAST  OVERSEERS, 
WESTMINSTER. 

There  are  several  parochial  Clubs  in  the  metropolis ; 
but  that  of  the  important  parish  of  St.  Margaret's,  West- 
minster, with  "  Past  Overseers  "  for  its  members,  has 
signalized  itself  by  the  accumulation  and  preservation  of 
an  unique  heirloom,  which  is  a  very  curious  collection 
of  memorials  of  the  last  century  and  a  half,  exhibiting 
various  tastes  and  styles  of  art  in  their  respective  com- 
memorations, in  a  sort  of  chronology  in  silver. 

Such  is  the  St.  Margaret's  Overseer's  Box,  which 
originated  as  follows.      It  appears  that  a  Mr.  Monck 

vol.  i.  o 


194  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON. 

purchased,,  at  Horn  Fair,  held  at  Charlton,  Kent,  a  small 
tobacco-box  for  the  sum  of  fourpence,  from  which  he 
often  replenished  his  neighbour's  pipe,  at  the  meetings 
of  his  predecessors  and  companions  in  the  office  of 
Overseers  of  the  Poor,  to  whom  the  Box  was  presented 
in  1713.  In  1720,  the  Society  of  Past  Overseers  orna- 
mented the  lid  with  a  silver  rim,  commemorating  the 
donor.  In  1726,  a  silver  side  case  and  bottom  were 
added.  In  1740,  an  embossed  border  was  placed  upon 
the  lid,  and  the  under  part  enriched  with  an  emblem  of 
Charity.  In  1746,  Hogarth  engraved  inside  the  lid  a 
bust  of  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  with  allegorical  figures, 
and  scroll  commemorating  the  Battle  of  Culloden.  In 
1765,  an  interwoven  scroll  was  added  to  the  lid,  enclosing 
a  plate  with  the  arms  of  the  City  of  Westminster,  and 
inscribed  :  "  This  Box  to  be  delivered  to  every  succeed- 
ing set  of  Overseers,  on  penalty  of  five  guineas." 

The  original  Horn  box  being  thus  ornamented,  addi- 
tional cases  were  provided  by  the  Senior  Overseers  for 
the  time  being, — namely,  silver  plates  engraved  with 
emblematical  and  historical  subjects  and  busts.  Among 
the  first  are  a  View  of  the  Fireworks  in  St.  James's 
Park,  to  celebrate  the  Peace  of  Aix-la-Chapelle,  1749 ; 
Admiral  KeppePs  Action  off  Ushant,  and  his  acquittal 
after  a  court-martial ;  the  Battle  of  the  Nile ;  the  Re- 
pulse of  Admiral  Linois,  1804  ;  the  Battle  of  Trafalgar, 
1805 ;  the  Action  between  the  San  Fiorenzo  and  La 
Piemontaise,  1808;  the  Battle  of  Waterloo,  1815  ;  the 
Bombardment  of  Algiers,  1816 ;  View  of  the  House  of 
Lords  at  the  Trial  of  Queen  Caroline ;  the  Coronation 
of  George  IV. ;  and  his  Visit  to  Scotland,  1822. 

There  are  also — Portraits  of  John  Wilkes,  Church- 
warden in  1759;  Nelson,  Duncan,  Howe,  Vincent;  Fox 


THE   SOCIETY   OF  PAST   OVERSEERS.         195 

and  Pitt,  1806;  George  IV.  as  Prince  Regent,  1811  ; 
the  Princess  Charlotte,  1817;  and  Queen  Charlotte, 
1818.  But  the  more  interesting  representations  are 
those  of  local  circumstances ;  as  the  Interior  of  West- 
minster Hall,  with  the  Westminster  Volunteers,  attend- 
ing Divine  Service  at  the  drum-head  on  the  Fast  Day, 
1803;  the  Old  Sessions  House;  a  view  of  St.  Mar- 
garet's, from  the  north-east ;  and  the  West  Front 
Tower,  and  altar-piece.  In  1813,  a  large  silver  plate 
was  added  to  the  outer  case,  with  a  portrait  of  the  Duke 
of  Wellington,  commemorating  the  centenary  of  the  ag- 
glomeration of  the  Box. 

The  top  of  the  second  case  represents  the  Governors 
of  the  Poor,  in  their  Board-room,  and  this  inscription : 
"  The  original  Box  and  cases  to  be  given  to  every  suc- 
ceeding set  of  Overseers,  on  penalty  of  fifty  guineas, 
1783."  On  the  outside  of  the  first  case  is  a  clever 
engraving  of  a  cripple. 

In  1785,  Mr.  Gilbert  exhibited  the  Box  to  some 
friends  after  dinner :  at  night,  thieves  broke  in,  and 
carried  off  all  the  plate  that  had  been  in  use  ;  but  the 
box  had  been  removed  beforehand  to  a  bedchamber. 

In  1793,  Mr.  Read,  a  Past  Overseer,  detained  the 
Box,  because  his  accounts  were  not  passed.  An  action 
was  brought  for  its  recovery,  which  was  long  delayed, 
owing  to  two  members  of  the  Society  giving  Read  a 
release,  which  he  successfully  pleaded  in  bar  to  the 
action.  This  rendered  it  necessary  to  take  proceedings 
in  equity  :  accordingly,  a  Bill  was  filed  in  Chancery 
against  all  three,  and  Read  was  compelled  to  deposit  the 
box  with  Master  Leeds  until  the  end  of  the  suit.  Three 
years  of  litigation  ensued.  Eventually  the  Chancellor 
directed  the  Box  to  be  restored  to  the  Overseers'  So- 


196  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON. 

ciety,  and  Mr.  Read  paid  in  costs  £300.  The  extra 
costs  amounted  to  £76.  13s.  lid.,  owing  to  the  illegal 
proceedings  of  Mr.  Read.  The  sum  of  <£91.  7s.  was 
at  once  raised ;  and  the  surplus  spent  upon  a  third  case, 
of  octagon  shape.  The  top  records  the  triumph  :  Jus- 
tice trampling  upon  a  prostrate  man,  from  whose  face  a 
mask  falls  upon  a  writhing  serpent.  A  second  plate,  on 
the  outside  of  the  fly-lid,  represents  the  Lord  Chancellor 
Loughborough,  pronouncing  his  decree  for  the  restora- 
tion of  the  Box,  March  5,  1796. 

On  the  fourth  or  outer  case  is  the  Anniversary  Meet- 
ing of  the  Past  Overseers'  Society,  with  the  Church- 
wardens giving  the  charge  previous  to  delivering  the  Box 
to  the  succeeding  Overseer,  who  is  bound  to  produce  it 
at  certain  parochial  entertainments,  with  three  pipes  of 
tobacco  at  the  least,  under  the  penalty  of  six  bottles  of 
claret;  and  to  return  the  whole,  with  some  addition, 
safe  and  sound,  under  a  penalty  of  200  guineas. 

A  tobacco-stopper  of  mother-of-pearl,  with  a  silver 
chain,  is  enclosed  within  the  Box,  and  completes  this 
unique  Memorial  of  the  kindly  feeling  which  perpetuates 
year  by  year  the  old  ceremonies  of  this  united  parish ; 
and  renders  this  traditionary  piece  of  plate  of  great 
price,  far  outweighing  its  intrinsic  value."* 


THE    ROBIN   HOOD. 

In  the  reign  of  George  the  Second  there  met,  at  a 
house  in  Essex-street,  in  the  Strand,  the  Robin  Hood 

*  Westminster.    By  the  Rev.  Mackenzie  S.  C.  Walcott,  M.A., 
Curate  of  St.  Margaret's,  1849,  pp.  105-107. 


THE   EOBIN   HOOD.  197 

Society,  a  debating  Club,  at  which,  every  Monday,  ques- 
tions were  proposed,  and  any  member  might  speak  on 
them  for  seven  minutes ;  after  which  the  "  baker,"  who 
presided  with  a  hammer  in  his  hand,  summed  up  the 
arguments.  Arthur  Mainwaring  and  Dr.  Hugh  Cham- 
berlain were  among  the  earliest  members  of  this  Society. 
Horace  Walpole  notices  the  Robin  Hood  as  one  of  the 
celebrities  which  Monsieur  Beaumont  saw  in  1761 :  "it 
is  incredible,"  says  Walpole,  "  what  pains  he  has  taken 
to  see  :  "  he  breakfasted  at  Strawberry  Hill  with  Wal- 
pole, who  was  then  "  as  much  a  curiosity  to  all  foreigners 
as  the  tombs  and  lions." 

The  Robin   Hood    became  famous  as  the   scene  of 
Burke's  earliest  eloquence.     To  discipline  themselves  in 
public  speaking  at  its  meetings  was  then  the  custom 
among  law-students,  and  others  intended  for  public  life  ; 
and  it  is  said  that  at  the  Robin  Hood,  Burke  had  com- 
monly to  encounter  an  opponent  whom  nobody  else  could 
overcome,  or  at  least  silence :  this  person  was  the  pre- 
sident.    Oliver  Goldsmith  was  introduced  to  the  Club 
by  Samuel  Derrick,  his  acquaintance  and  countryman. 
Struck  by  the  eloquence  and  imposing  aspect  of  the  pre- 
sident, who  sat  in  a  large  gilt  chair,  Goldsmith  thought 
Nature  had  meant  him  for  a  lord  chancellor  :  ' l  No,  no," 
whispered  Derrick,  who  knew  him  to  be  a  wealthy  baker 
from  the  City,  "only  for  a  master  of  the  rolls."     Gold- 
smith was  little  of  an  orator;  but,  till  Derrick  went 
away  to  succeed  Beau  Nash  at  Bath,  seems  to  have  con- 
tinued his  visits,  and  even  spoke  occasionally;  for  he 
figures  in  an  account  of  the  members  published  at  about 
this  time,  as  "a  candid  disputant,  with  a  clear  head  and 
an    honest  heart,   though  coming    but   seldom    to    the 
Society." 


198  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON. 

One  of  the  members  of  this  Robin  Hood  was  Peter 
Annet,  a  man  who,  though  ingenious  and  deserving  in 
other  respects,  became  unhappily  notorious  by  a  kind  of 
fanatic  crusade  against  the  Bible,  for  which  (published 
weekly  papers  against  the  Book  of  Genesis,)  he  stood 
twice  in  one  year  in  the  pillory,  and  then  underwent  im- 
prisonment in  the  King's  Bench.  To  Annet's  room 
in  that  prison  went  Goldsmith,  taking  with  him  New- 
bery,  the  publisher,  to  conclude  the  purchase  of  a  Child's 
Grammar  from  the  prisoner,  hoping  so  to  relieve  his  dis- 
tress ;  but  on  the  prudent  publisher  suggesting  that  no 
name  should  appear  on  the  title-page,  and  Goldsmith 
agreeing  that  circumstances  made  this  advisable,  Annet 
accused  them  both  of  cowardice,  and  rejected  their  as- 
sistance with  contempt."* 


THE  BLUE-STOCKING  CLUB. 

The  earliest  mention  of  a  Blue- Stocking,  or  Bas-Bleu, 
occurs  in  the  Greek  comedy,  entitled  the  Banquet  of 
Plutarch.  The  term,  as  applied  to  a  lady  of  high  literary 
taste,  has  been  traced  by  Mills,  in  his  History  of  Chivalry, 
to  the  Society  de  la  Calza,  formed  at  Venice,  in  1400, 
"  when,  consistently  with  the  singular  custom  of  the 
Italians,  of  marking  academies  and  other  intellectual 
associations  by  some  external  sign  of  folly,  the  members, 
when  they  met  in  literary  discussion,  were  distinguished 
by  the  colour  of  their  stockings.  The  colours  were 
sometimes  fantastically  blended ;  and  at  other  times  one 

*  Forster's  Life  of  Goldsmith,  p.  253. 


THE  BLUE- STOCKING   CLUB.  199 

colour,  particularly  blue,  prevailed."  The  Society  de  la 
Calza  lasted  till  1590,  when  the  foppery  of  Italian  litera- 
ture took  some  other  symbol.  The  rejected  title  then 
crossed  the  Alps,  and  found  a  congenial  soil  in  Parisian 
society,  and  particularly  branded  female  pedantry.  It 
then  diverted  from  France  to  England,  and  for  awhile 
marked  the  vanity  of  the  small  advances  in  literature  in 
female  coteries. 

But  the  Blue-stocking  of  the  last  century  is  of  home- 
growth  ;  for  Boswell,  in  his  Life  of  Johnson,  date  1781, 
records  :  "  About  this  time  it  was  much  the  fashion  for 
several  ladies  to  have  evening  assemblies,  where  the  fair 
sex  might  participate  in  conversation  with  literary  and 
ingenious  men,  animated  by  a  desire  to  please.  One  of 
the  most  eminent  members  of  these  societies,  when  they 
first  commenced,  was  Mr.  Stillingfleet  (grandson  of  the 
Bishop),  whose  dress  was  remarkably  grave ;  and  in  par- 
ticular it  was  observed  that  he  wore  blue  stockings. 
Such  was  the  excellence  of  his  conversation,  that  his 
absence  was  felt  so  great  a  loss  that  it  used  to  be  said, 
'  We  can  do  nothing  without  the  blue  stockings ;'  and 
thus  by  degrees  the  title  was  established.  Miss  Hannah 
More  has  admirably  described  a  Blue- Stocking  Club,  in 
her  Bas-Bleu,  a  poem  in  which  many  of  the  persons  who 
were  most  conspicuous  there  are  mentioned.  And 
Horace  Walpole  speaks  of  this  production  as  "  a  charm- 
ing poetic  familiarity  called  '  the  Blue- Stocking  Club/  " 

The  Club  met  at  the  house  of  Mrs.  Montagu,  at  the 
north-west  angle  of  Portman-square.  Forbes,  in  his 
Life  of  Beat  tie,  gives  another  account :  "  This  Society 
consisted  originally  of  Mrs.  Montagu,  Mrs.  Vesey,  Miss 
Boscawen,  and  Mrs.  Carter,  Lord  Lyttelton,  Mr.  Pul- 
teney,  Horace  Walpole,  and  Mr.  Stillingfleet.     To  the 


200  CLUB  LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

latter  gentleman,  a  man  of  great  piety  and  worth,  and 
author  of  some  works  in  natural  history,  etc.,  this  con- 
stellation of  talents  owed  that  whimsical  appellation  of 
'  Bas-Bleu/  Mr.  Stillingfleet  being  somewhat  of  an 
humourist  in  his  habits  and  manners,  and  a  little  negli- 
gent in  his  dress,  literally  wore  gray  stockings;  from 
which  circumstance  Admiral  Boscawen  used,  by  way  of 
pleasantry,  to  call  them  '  The  Blue-Stocking  Society/ 
as  if  to  intimate  that  when  these  brilliant  friends  met, 
it  was  not  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  dressed  assembly. 
A  foreigner  of  distinction  hearing  the  expression,  trans- 
lated it  literally  '  Bas-Bleu/  by  which  these  meetings 
came  to  be  afterwards  distinguished."  Dr.  Johnson  some- 
times joined  this  circle.  The  last  of  the  Club  was  the 
lively  Miss  Monckton,  afterwards  Countess  of  Cork, 
"  who  used  to  have  the  finest  bit  of  blue  at  the  house  of 
her  mother  Lady  Galway."  Lady  Cork  died  at  upwards 
of  ninety  years  of  age,  at  her  house  in  New  Burlington- 
street,  in  1840. 


THE   IVY-LANE   CLUB. 

This  was  one  of  the  creations  of  Dr.  Johnson's  clubbable 
nature,  which  served  as  recreation  for  this  laborious 
worker.  He  was  now  "  tugging  at  the  oar,"  in  Gough- 
square,  Fleet-street.  Boswell  describes  him  as  "en- 
gaged in  a  steady,  continued  course  of  occupation." 
"  But  his  enlarged  and  lively  mind  could  not  be  satisfied 
without  more  diversity  of  employment,  and  the  pleasure 
of  animated  relaxation.     He  therefore  not  only  exerted 


THE    IVY-LANE  CLUB.  201 

his  talents  in  occasional  composition,  very  different  from 
lexicography,  but  formed  a  Club  in  Ivy -lane,  Paternos- 
ter-row, with  a  view  to  enjoy  literary  discussion,  and 
amuse  his  evening  hours.  The  members  associated  with 
him  in  this  little  Society  were  his  beloved  friend  Dr. 
Richard  Bathurst;  Mr.  Hawkesworth,  afterwards  well 
kuown  by  his  writings ;  Mr.  John  Hawkins,  an  attorney  ; 
and  a  few  others  of  different  professions."  The  Club 
met  every  Tuesday  evening  at  the  King's  Head,  a  beef- 
steak house  in  Ivy-lane.  One  of  the  members,  Hawkins, 
then  Sir  John,  has  given  a  very  lively  picture  of  a  cele- 
bration by  this  Club,  at  the  Devil  Tavern,  in  Fleet-street, 
which  forms  one  of  the  pleasantest  pages  in  the  Author's 
Life  of  Johnson.     Sir  John  tells  us  : 

"  One  evening,  at  the  [Ivy-lane]  Club,  Dr.  Johnson 
proposed  to  us  celebrating  the  birth  of  Mrs.  Lennox's 
first  literary  child,  as  he  called  her  book,  by  a  whole 
night  spent  in  festivity.  The  place  appointed  was  the 
Devil  Tavern ;  and  there,  about  the  hour  of  eight,  Mrs. 
Lennox,  and  her  husband,  and  a  lady  of  her  acquaint- 
ance now  living  [1785],  as  also  the  Club  and  friends,  to 
the  number  of  near  twenty,  assembled.  Our  supper  was 
elegant,  and  Johnson  had  directed  that  a  magnificent 
hot  apple-pye  should  make  a  part  of  it,  and  this  he  would 
have  stuck  with  bay-leaves,  because,  forsooth,  Mrs. 
Lennox  was  an  authoress,  and  had  written  verses;  and 
further,  he  had  prepared  for  her  a  crown  of  laurel,  with 
which,  but  not  until  he  had  invoked  the  Muses  by  some 
ceremonies  of  his  own  invention,  he  encircled  her  brows. 
The  night  passed,  as  must  be  imagined,  in  pleasant  con- 
versation and  harmless  mirth,  intermingled,  at  different 
periods,  with  the  refreshments  of  coffee  and  tea.  About 
five,   Johnson's   face    shone  with   meridian    splendour, 


202  CLUB  LIFE  OF  LONDON. 

though  his  drink  had  been  only  lemonade;  but  the 
far  greater  part  of  us  had  deserted  the  colours  of  Bac- 
chus, and  were  with  difficulty  rallied  to  partake  of  a 
second  refreshment  of  coffee,  which  was  scarcely  ended 
when  the  day  began  to  dawn.  This  phenomenon  began 
to  put  us  in  mind  of  our  reckoning ;  but  the  waiters 
were  all  so  overcome  with  sleep,  that  it  was  two  hours 
before  we  could  get  a  bill,  and  it  was  not  till  near  eight 
that  the  creaking  of  the  street-door  gave  the  signal  for 
our  departure." 

When  Johnson,  the  year  before  his  death,  endeavoured 
to  re-assemble  as  many  of  the  Club  as  were  left,  he  found, 
to  his  regret,  he  wrote  to  Hawkins,  that  Horseman,  the 
landlord,  was  dead,  and  the  house  shut  up. 

About  this  time,  Johnson  instituted  a  Club  at  the 
Queen's  Arms,  in  St.  PauPs  Churchyard.  "  He  told  Mr. 
Hook,"  says  Boswell,  "  that  he  wished  to  have  a  City 
Club,  and  asked  him  to  collect  one  ;  but,"  said  he,  "  don't 
let  them  be  patriots."  (BoswelPs  Life,  8th  edit.  vol.  iv. 
p.  93.)  This  was  an  allusion  to  the  friends  of  his  ac- 
quaintance Wilkes.  Boswell  accompanied  him  one  day 
to  the  Club,  and  found  the  members  u  very  sensible,  well- 
behaved  men." 


THE   ESSEX  HEAD  CLUB. 

In  the  vear  before  he  died,  at  the  Essex  Head,  now 
No. 40,  in  Essex-street,  Strand,  Dr.  Johnson  established  a 
little  evening  Club,  under  circumstances  peculiarly  inter- 
esting, as  described  by  Boswell.  He  tells  us  that  "  not- 
withstanding the  complication  of  disorders  under  whicn 


THE   ESSEX  HEAD   CLUB.  203 

Johnson  now  laboured,  he  did  not  resign  himself  to  de- 
spondency and  discontent,  but  with  wisdom  and  spirit 
endeavoured  to  console  and  amuse  his  mind  with  as 
many  innocent  enjoyments  as  he  could  procure.  Sir 
John  Hawkins  has  mentioned  the  cordiality  with  which 
he  insisted  that  such  of  the  members  of  the  old  Club  in 
Ivy-lane  as  survived,  should  meet  again  and  dine  together, 
which  they  did,  twice  at  a  tavern,  and  once  at  his  house ; 
and  in  order  to  ensure  himself  in  the  evening  for  three 
days  in  the  week,  Johnson  instituted  a  Club  at  the  Essex 
Head,  in  Essex-street,  then  kept  by  Samuel  Greaves,  an 
old  servant  of.  Mr.  Thrale's  :  it  was  called  "  Sam's." 

On  Dec.  4,  1783,  Johnson  wrote  to  Sir  Joshua  Rey- 
nolds, giving  an  account  of  this  Club,  of  which  Reynolds 
had  desired  to  be  one  ;  "  the  company,"  Dr.  J.  says,  "  is 
numerous,  and,  as  you  will  see  by  the  list,  miscellaneous. 
The  terms  are  lax,  and  the  expenses  light.  Mr.  Barry 
was  adopted  by  Dr.  Brocklesby,  who  joined  with  me  in 
forming  the  plan.  We  meet  twice  a  week,  and  he  who 
misses  forfeits  twopence."  It  did  not  suit  Sir  Joshua 
to  be  one  of  this  Club  ;  ' '  but/'  says  Boswell,  "  when  I 
mention  only  Mr.  Daines  Barrington,  Dr.  Brocklesby, 
Mr.  Murphy,  Mr.  John  Nichols,  Mr.  Cooke,  Mr.  Jod- 
drel,  Mr.  Paradise,  Dr.  Horsley,  Mr.  Windham,  I  shall 
sufficiently  obviate  the  misrepresentation  of  it  by  Sir  John 
Hawkins,  as  if  it  had  been  a  low  ale-house  association,  by 
which  Johnson  was  degraded.  The  Doctor  himself,  like 
his  namesake,  Old  Ben,  composed  the  Rules  of  his  Club. 
Boswell  was,  at  this  time,  in  Scotland,  and  during  all 
the  winter.  Johnson,  however,  declared  that  he  should 
be  a  member,  and  invented  a  word  upon  the  occasion : 
"  Boswell,"  said  he,  "  is  a  very  clubbable  man ;"  and  he 
was  subsequently  chosen  of  the  Club. 


204  CLUB  LIFE  OF  LONDON. 

Johnson  headed  the  Rules  with  these  lines  : — 

"  To-day  deep  thoughts  with  me  resolve  to  drench 
In  mirth,  which  after  no  repenting  draws." — Milton. 

Johnson's  attention  to  the  Club  was  unceasing,  as  ap- 
pears by  a  letter  to  Alderman  Clark,  (afterwards  Lord 
Mayor  and  Chamberlain,)  who  was  elected  into  the 
Club :  the  postscript  is  :  "  You  ought  to  be  informed 
that  the  forfeits  began  with  the  year,  and  that  every 
night  of  non-attendance  incurs  the  mulct  of  three  pence ; 
that  is,  ninepence  a  week."  Johnson  himself  was  so 
anxious  in  his  attendance,  that  going  to  meet  the  Club 
when  he  was  not  strong  enough,  he  was  seized  with  a 
spasmodic  asthma,  so  violent,  that  he  could  scarcely  re- 
turn home,  and  he  was  confined  to  his  house  eight  or 
nine  weeks.  He  recovered  by  May  15,  when  he  was  in 
fine  spirits  at  the  Club. 

Boswell  writes  of  the  Essex :  "  I  believe  there  are  few 
Societies  where  there  is  better  conversation,  or  more 
decorum.  Several  of  us  resolved  to  continue  it  after  our 
great  founder  was  removed  by  death.  Other  members 
were  added ;  and  now,  above  eight  years  since  that  loss, 
we  go  on  happily." 


THE  LITERARY  CLUB. 

Out  of  the  casual,  but  frequent  meetings  of  men  of 
talent  at  the  hospitable  board  of  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds, 
in  Leicester- square,  rose  that  association  of  wits,  authors, 
scholars,  and  statesmen,  renowned  as  the  Literary  Club. 
Reynolds  was  the  first  to  propose  a  regular  association 


THE   LITERARY   CLUB.  205 

of  the  kind,  and  was  eagerly  seconded  by  Johnson,  who 
suggested  as  a  model  the  Club  which  he  had  formed  some 
fourteen  years  previously,  in  Ivy -lane ;  *  and  which  the 
deaths  or  dispersion  of  its  members  had  now  interrupted 
for  nearly  seven  years.  On  this  suggestion  being  adop- 
ted, the  members,  as  in  the  earlier  Club,  were  limited  to 
nine,  and  Mr.  Hawkins,  as  an  original  member  of  the 
Ivy-lane  Club,  was  invited  to  join.  Topham  Beauclerk 
and  Bennet  Langton  were  asked  and  welcomed  earnestly; 
and,  of  course,  Mr.  Edmund  Burke.  The  notion  of  the 
Club  delighted  Burke ;  and  he  asked  admission  for  his 
father-in-law,  Dr.  Nugent,  an  accomplished  Roman 
Catholic  physician,  who  lived  with  him.  Beauclerk,  in 
like  manner,  suggested  his  friend  Chamier,  then  Under- 
Secretary-at-War.  Oliver  Goldsmith  completed  the  num- 
ber. But  another  member  of  the  original  Ivy-lane, 
Samuel  Dyer,  making  unexpected  appearance  from  a- 
broad,  in  the  following  year,  was  joyfully  admitted  ;  and 
though  it  was  resolved  to  make  election  difficult,  and 
only  for  special  reasons  permit  addition  to  their  number, 
the  limitation  at  first  proposed  was  thus,  of  course,  done 
away  with.  Twenty  was  the  highest  number  reached  in 
the  course  of  ten  years. 

The  dates  of  the  Club  are  thus  summarily  given  by  Mr. 
Hatchett,  the  treasurer : — It  was  founded  in  1764,  by  Sir 
Joshua  Reynolds  and  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson,  and  for  some 
years  met  on  Monday  evenings,  at  seven.  In  1772,  the 
day  of  meeting  was  changed  to  Friday,  and  about  that 
time,  instead  of  supping,  they  agreed  to  dine  together 
once  in  every  fortnight  during  the  sitting  of  Parliament. 

*  The  house  in  Ivy-lane,  which  bore  the  name  of  Johnson,  and 
where  the  Literary  Club  is  said  to  have  been  held,  was  burnt  down 
a  few  years  since  :  it  had  long  been  a  chop-house. 


206  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON. 

In  1773,  the  Club,  which,  soon  after  its  foundation,  con- 
sisted of  twelve  members,  was  enlarged  to  twenty  ;  March 
11,  1777,  to  twenty-six;  November  27,  1778,  to  thirty; 
May  9,  1780,  to  thirty-five;  and  it  was  then  resolved 
that  it  should  never  exceed  forty.  It  met  originally  at 
the  Turk's  Head,  in  Gerard -street,  and  continued  to 
meet  there  till  1783,  when  their  landlord  died,  and  the 
house  was  soon  afterwards  shut  up.  They  then  removed 
to  Prince's,  in  Sackville-street;  and  on  his  house  being, 
soon  afterwards,  shut  up,  they  removed  to  Baxter's, 
which  afterwards  became  Thomas's,  in  Dover-street.  In 
January,  1792,  they  removed  to  Parsloe's,  in  St.  James's- 
street;  and  on  February  26,  1799,  to  the  Thatched 
House,  in  the  same  street. 

"  So  originated  and  was  formed,"  says  Mr.  Forster, 
"  that  famous  Club,  which  had  made  itself  a  name  in  liter- 
ary history  long  before  it  received,  at  Garrick's  funeral, 
the  name  of  the  Literary  Club,  by  which  it  is  now  known. 
Its  meetings  were  noised  abroad ;  the  fame  of  its  conver- 
sations received  eager  addition,  from  the  difficulty  of  ob- 
taining admission  to  it;  and  it  came  to  be  as  generally 
understood  that  Literature  had  fixed  her  social  head- 
quarters here,  as  that  Politics  reigned  supreme  at  Wild- 
man's,  or  the  Cocoa-tree.  With  advantage,  let  me  add, 
to  the  dignity  and  worldly  consideration  of  men  of  letters 
themselves.  '  I  believe  Mr.  Fox  will  allow  me  to  say,' 
remarked  the  Bishop  of  St.  Asaph,  when  the  Society  was 
not  more  than  fifteen  years  old,  e  that  the  honour  of  be- 
ing elected  into  the  Turk's  Head  Club,  is  not  inferior  to 
that  of  being  the  representative  of  Westminster  or  Sur- 
rey.' The  Bishop  had  just  been  elected ;  but  into  such 
usty  independence  had  the  Club  sprung  up  thus  early, 
that  Bishops,  even  Lord  Chancellors,   were  known  to 


THE   LITERARY   CLUB.  207 

have  knocked  for  admission  unsuccessfully ;  and  on  th  e 
night  of  St.  Asaph's  election,  Lord  Camden  and  the 
Bishop  of  Chester  were  black-balled." 

Of  this  Club,  Hawkins  was  a  most  unpopular  member : 
even  his  old  friend,  Johnson,  admitted  him  to  be  out  of 
place  here.  He  had  objected  to  Goldsmith,  at  the  Club, 
ct  as  a  mere  literary  drudge,  equal  to  the  task  of  compi- 
ling and  translating,  but  little  capable  of  original,  and 
still  less  of  poetical  composition. "  Hawkins's  "  existence 
was  a  kind  of  pompous,  parsimonious,  insignificant  drawl, 
cleverly  ridiculed  by  one  of  the  wits  in  an  absurd  epi- 
taph :  '  Here  lies  Sir  John  Hawkins,  without  his  shoes 
and  stauckins.' "  He  was  as  mean  as  he  was  pompous 
and  conceited.  He  forbore  to  partake  of  the  suppers  at 
the  Club,  and  begged  therefore  to  be  excused  from  paying 
his  share  of  the  reckoning.  "And  was  he  excused?" 
asked  Dr.  Burney,  of  Johnson.  "  Oh  yes,  for  no  man  is 
angry  at  another  for  being  inferior  to  himself.  We  all 
scorned  him,  and  admitted  his  plea.  Yet  I  really  be- 
lieve him  to  be  an  honest  man  at  bottom,  though,  to  be 
sure,  he  is  penurious  and  he  is  mean,  and  it  must  be 
owned  that  he  has  a  tendency  to  savageness."  He  did 
not  remain  above  two  or  three  years  in  the  Club,  being 
in  a  manner  elbowed  out  in  consequence  of  his  rudeness 
to  Burke.  Still,  Burke's  vehemence  of  will  and  sharp  im- 
petuosity of  temper  constantly  exposed  him  to  prejudice 
and  dislike ;  and  he  may  have  painfully  impressed  others, 
as  well  as  Hawkins,  at  the  Club,  with  a  sense  of  his  pre- 
dominance. This  was  the  only  theatre  open  to  him. 
"  Here  only,"  says  Mr.  Forster,  'f  could  he  as  yet  pour 
forth,  to  an  audience  worth  exciting,  the  stores  of  argu- 
ment and  eloquence  he  was  thirsting  to  employ  upon  a 
wider  stage;  the  variety  of  knowledge,  the  fund  of  asto- 


208  CLUB   LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

nishing  imagery,  the  ease  of  philosophic  illustration,  the 
overpowering  copiousness  of  words,  in  which  he  has 
never  had  a  rival."  Miss  Hawkins  was  convinced  that 
her  father  was  disgusted  with  the  overpowering  deport- 
ment of  Mr.  Burke,  and  his  monopoly  of  the  conversa- 
tion, which  made  all  the  other  members,  excepting  his 
antagonist,  Johnson,  merely  listeners.  Something  of  the 
same  sort  is  said  by  that  antagonist,  though  in  a  more 
generous  way.  "What  I  most  envy  Burke  for,"  said 
Johnson,  "  is,  that  he  is  never  what  we  call  humdrum  ; 
never  unwilling  to  begin  to  talk,  nor  in  haste  to  leave 
off.  Take  up  whatever  topic  you  please,  he  is  ready  to 
meet  you.  I  cannot  say  he  is  good  at  listening.  So 
desirous  is  he  to  talk,  that  if  one  is  speaking  at  this  end 
of  the  table,  he'll  speak  to  somebody  at  the  other  end." 

The  Club  was  "an  opportunity  for  both  Johnson  and 
Burke ;  and  for  the  most  part  their  wit- combats  seem  not 
only  to  have  instructed  the  rest,  but  to  have  improved  the 
temper  of  the  combatants,  and  to  have  made  them  more 
generous  to  each  other.  "  How  very  great  Johnson  has 
been  to-night  I"  said  Burke  to  Bennet  Langton,  as  they 
left  the  Club  together.  Langton  assented,  but  could  have 
wished  to  hear  more  from  another  person.  "  Oh  no  !" 
replied  Burke,  "  it  is  enough  for  me  to  have  rung  the 
bell  to  him." 

One  evening  he  observed  that  a  hogshead  of  claret, 
which  had  been  sent  as  a  present  to  the  Club,  was  almost 
out ;  and  proposed  that  Johnson  should  write  for  another, 
in  such  ambiguity  of  expression  as  might  have  a  chance 
of  procuring  it  also  as  a  gift.  One  of  the  company 
said,  "  Dr.  Johnson  shall  be  our  dictator." — "  Were  I," 
said  Johnson,  "  your  dictator,  you  should  have  no  wine  : 
it  would  be  my  business  cavere  ne  quid  detrimenti  res- 


THE   LITERARY   CLUB.  209 

publica  caperet: — wine  is  dangerous;  Rome  was  ruined 
by  luxury."  Burke  replied :  "  If  you  allow  no  wine 
as  dictator,  you  shall  not  have  me  for  master  of  the 
horse." 

Goldsmith,  it  must  be  owned,  joined  the  Club  some- 
what unwillingly,  saying :  "  One  must  make  some  sacri- 
fices to  obtain  good  society ;  for  here  I  am  shut  out  of 
several  places  where  I  used  to  play  the  fool  very  agree- 
ably." His  simplicity  of  character  and  hurried  expres- 
sion often  led  him  into  absurdity,  and  he  became  in  some 
degree  the  butt  of  the  company.  The  Club,  notwith- 
standing all  its  learned  dignity  in  the  eyes  of  the  world, 
could  occasionally  unbend  and  play  the  fool  as  well  as 
less  important  bodies.  Some  of  its  jocose  conversations 
have  at  times  leaked  out;  and  the  Society  in  which  Gold- 
smith could  venture  to  sing  his  song  'of  "  An  Old  Woman 
tossed  in  a  Blanket"  could  not  be  so  very  staid  in  its 
gravity.  Bennet  Langton  and  Topham  Beauclerk  were, 
doubtless,  induced  to  join  the  Club  through  their  devo- 
tion to  Johnson,  and  the  intimacy  of  these  two  very 
young  and  aristocratic  young  men  with  the  stern  and 
somewhat  melancholy  moralist.  Bennet  Langton  was 
of  an  ancient  family,  who  held  their  ancestral  estate 
of  Langton  in  Lincolnshire,  a  great  title  to  respect  with 
Johnson.  "  Langton,  Sir,"  he  would  say,  ' '  has  a  grant 
of  free  warren  from  Henry  the  Second;  and  Cardinal 
Stephen  Langton,  in  King  John's  reign,  was  of  this 
family." 

Langton  was  of  a  mild,  contemplative,  enthusiastic 
nature.  When  but  eighteen  years  of  age,  he  was  so 
delighted  with  reading  Johnson's  Rambler ,  that  he  came 
to  London  chiefly  with  a  view  to  obtain  an  introduction 
to  the  author. 

vol.  i.  p 


210  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON. 

Langton  went  to  pursue  his  studies  at  Trinity  College, 
Oxford,  where  Johnson  saw  much  of  him  during  a  visit 
which  he  paid  to  the  University.  He  found  him  in 
close  intimacy  with  Topham  Beauclerk,  a  youth  two 
years  older  than  himself,  very  gay  and  dissipated,  and 
wondered  what  sympathies  could  draw  two  young  men 
together  of  such  opposite  characters.  On  becoming  ac- 
quainted with  Beauclerk,  he  found  that,  rake  though  he 
was,  he  possessed  an  ardent  love  of  literature,  an  acute 
understanding,  polished  wit,  innate  gentility,  and  high 
aristocratic  breeding.  He  was,  moreover,  the  only  son 
of  Lord  Sidney  Beauclerk,  and  grandson  of  the  Duke  of 
St.  Albans,  and  was  thought  in  some  particulars  to  have 
a  resemblance  to  Charles  the  Second.  These  were  high 
recommendations  with  Johnson  ;  and  when  the  youth  tes- 
tified a  profound  respect  for  him,  and  an  ardent  admira- 
tion of  his  talents,  the  conquest  was  complete ;  so  that 
in  a  "  short  time,"  says  Boswell,  "  the  moral,  pious  John- 
son and  the  gay  dissipated  Beauclerk  were  companions." 

When  these  two  young  men  entered  the  Club,  Langton 
was  about  twenty- two,  and  Beauclerk  about  twenty-four 
years  of  age,  and  both  were  launched  on  London  life. 
Langton,  however,  was  still  the  mild,  enthusiastic  scholar, 
steeped  to  the  lips  in  Greek,  with  fine  conversational 
powers,  and  an  invaluable  talent  for  listening.  He  was 
upwards  of  six  feet  high,  and  very  spare.  "  Oh  that 
we  could  sketch  him  !"  exclaims  Miss  Hawkins,  in  her 
Memoirs,  "  with  his  mild  countenance,  his  elegant  fea- 
tures, and  his  sweet  smile,  sitting  with  one  leg  twisted 
round  the  other,  as  if  fearing  to  occupy  more  space  than 
was  equitable ;  his  person  inclining  forward,  as  if  wanting 
strength  to  support  his  weight ;  and  his  arms  crossed  over 
his  bosom,  or  his  hands  locked  together  on  his  knee." 


THE   LITERARY   CLUB.  211 

Beauclerk,  on  such  occasions,,  sportively  compared  him 
to  a  stork  in  Raphael's  cartoons,  standing  on  one  leg. 
Beauclerk  was  more  a  "  man  upon  town/'  a  lounger  in 
St.  James's-street,  an  associate  with  George  Selwyn,  with 
Walpole,  and  other  aristocratic  wits,  a  man  of  fashion  at 
court,  a  casual  frequenter  of  the  gaming-table ;  yet,  with 
all  this,  he  alternated  in  the  easiest  and  happiest  manner 
the  scholar  and  the  man  of  letters  ;  lounged  into  the  Club 
with  the  most  perfect  self-possession,  bringing  with  him 
the  careless  grace  and  polished  wit  of  high-bred  so- 
ciety, but  making  himself  cordially  at  home  among  his 
learned  fellow-members. 

Johnson  was  exceedingly  chary  at  first  of  the  exclusive- 
ness  of  the  Club,  and  opposed  to  its  being  augmented  in 
number.  Not  long  after  its  institution,  Sir  Joshua  Rey- 
nolds was  speaking  of  it  to  Garrick.  "  I  like  it  much/' 
said  little  David,  briskly,  "  I  think  I  shall  be  of  you." 
"  When  Sir  Joshua  mentioned  this  to  Dr.  Johnson,"  says 
Boswell,  "  he  was  much  displeased  with  the  actor's  con- 
ceit. c  He'll  be  of  us  !J  growled  he;  '  how  does  he  know 
we  will  permit  him  ?  The  first  duke  in  England  has  no 
right  to  hold  such  language." 

When  Sir  John  Hawkins  spoke  favourably  of  Garrick' s 
pretensions,  "  Sir,"  replied  Johnson,  "  he  will  disturb  us 
by  his  buffoonery."  In  the  same  spirit  he  declared  to 
Mr.  Thrale,  that  if  Garrick  should  apply  for  admission, 
he  would  black-ball  him.  "  Who,  Sir  ?"  exclaimed  Thrale, 
with  surprise:  "  Mr.  Garrick — your  friend,  your  com- 
panion— black-ball  him  ?"  "  Why,  Sir,"  replied  John- 
son, "  I  love  my  little  David  dearly — better  than  all  or 
any  of  his  flatterers  do ;  but  surely  one  ought  to  sit  in 
a  society  like  ours, 

"Unelbowed  by  a  gamester,  pimp,  or  player." 

p  2 


212  CLUB   LIFE   OF  LONDON, 

The  exclusion  from  the  Club  was  a  sore  mortification 
to  Garrick,  though  he  bore  it  without  complaining.  He 
could  not  help  continually  asking  questions  about  it — 
what  was  going  on  there  ? — whether  he  was  ever  the 
subject  of  conversation?  By  degrees  the  rigour  of  the 
Club  relaxed ;  some  of  the  members  *  grew  negligent. 
Beauclerk  lost  his  right  of  membership  by  neglecting  to 
attend.  On  his  marriage,  however,  with  Lady  Diana 
Spencer,  daughter  of  the  Duke  of  Marlborough,  and 
recently  divorced  from  Viscount  Bolingbroke,  he  had 
claimed  and  regained  his  seat  in  the  Club.  The  number 
of  the  members  had  likewise  been  augmented.  The 
proposition  to  increase  it  originated  with  Goldsmith. 
"  It  would  give,"  he  thought,  "  an  agreeable  variety  to 
their  meetings ;  for  there  can  be  nothing  new  amongst 
us,"  said  he;  "we  have  travelled  over  each  other's 
minds."  Johnson  was  piqued  at  the  suggestion.  "  Sir," 
said  he,  "  you  have  not  travelled  over  my  mind,  I  pro- 
mise you."  Sir  Joshua,  less  confident  in  the  exhaust- 
less  fecundity  of  his  mind,  felt  and  acknowledged  the 
force  of  Goldsmith's  suggestion.  Several  new  members, 
therefore,  had  been  added ;  the  first,  to  his  great  joy, 
was  David  Garrick.  Goldsmith,  who  was  now  on  cor- 
dial terms  with  him,  had  zealously  promoted  his  elec- 
tion, and  Johnson  had  given  it  his  warm  approbation. 
Another  new  member  was  Beauclerk's  friend,  Lord 
Charlemont ;  and  a  still  more  important  one  was  Mr., 
afterwards  Sir  William  Jones,  the  linguist.  George  Col- 
man,  the  elder,  was  a  lively  Club-man.  One  evening 
at  the  Club  he  met  Boswell ;  they  talked  of  Johnson's 
Journey  to  the  Western  Islands,  and  of  his  coming  away 
"  willing  to  believe  the  second  sight,"  which  seemed  to 
excite  some  ridicule.     "  I  was  then,"  says  Boswell,  "  so 


THE  LITERARY    CLUB.  213 

impressed  with  the  truth  of  many  of  the  stories  which  I 
had  been  told,  that  I  avowed  my  conviction,  saying,  "  He 
is  only  ivilling  to  believe — I  do  believe;  the  evidence  is 
enough  for  me,  though  not  for  his  great  mind.  What 
will  not  fill  a  quart  bottle  will  fill  a  pint  bottle  ;  I  am 
filled  with  belief." — "Are  you?"  said  Colman;  "  then 
cork  it  up." 

Five  years  after  the  death  of  Garrick,  Dr.  Johnson 
dined  with  the  Club  for  the  last  time.  This  is  one  of 
the  most  melancholy  entries  by  Boswell.  "  On  Tues- 
day, June  22  (1784),  I  dined  with  him  (Johnson)  at 
the  Literary  Club,  the  last  time  of  his  being  in  that 
respectable  society.  The  other  members  present  were 
the  Bishop  of  St.  Asaph,  Lord  Eliot,  Lord  Palmerston 
(father  of  the  Premier),  Dr.  Fordyce,  and  Mr.  Malone. 
He  looked  ill ;  but  he  had  such  a  manly  fortitude,  that 
he  did  not  trouble  the  company  with  melancholy  com- 
plaints. They  all  showed  evident  marks  of  kind  concern 
about  him,  with  which  he  was  much  pleased,  and  he 
exerted  himself  to  be  as  entertaining  as  his  indisposi- 
tion allowed  him." 

From  the  time  of  Garrick's  death  the  Club  was  known 
as  "  The  Literary  Club,"  since  which  it  has  certainly 
lost  its  claim  to  this  epithet.  It  was  originally  a  club 
of  authors  by  profession ;  it  now  numbers  very  few  ex- 
cept titled  members  (the  majority  having  some  claims 
to  literary  distinction),  which  was  very  far  from  the  in- 
tention of  its  founders.  To  this  the  author  of  the  paper 
in  the  National  Review  demurs.  Writing  in  1857,  he 
says  :  "  Perhaps  it  now  numbers  on  its  list  more  titled 
members  and  fewer  authors  by  profession,  than  its  foun- 
ders would  have  considered  desirable.  This  opinion, 
however,  is  quite  open  to  challenge.     Such  men  as  the 


21-1  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON. 

Marquis  of  Lansdowne,  the  late  Lord  Ellesmere,  Lords 
Brougham,  Carlisle,  Aberdeen,  and  Glenelg,  hold  their 
place  in  '  the  Literary  Club '  quite  as  much  by  virtue 
of  their  contributions  to  literature,  or  their  enlightened 
support  of  it,  as  by  their  right  of  rank."  [How  many  of 
these  noble  members  have  since  paid  the  debt  of  nature  !] 

"  At  all  events/'  says  Mr.  Taylor,  "  the  Club  still 
acknowledges  literature  as  its  foundation,  and  love  of 
literature  as  the  tie  which  binds  together  its  members, 
whatever  their  rank  and  callings.  Few  Clubs  can  show 
such  a  distinguished  brotherhood  of  members  as  '  the 
Literary/  Of  authors  proper,  from  1764  to  this  date 
(1857),  may  be  enumerated,  besides  its  original  mem- 
bers, Johnson  and  Goldsmith,  Dyer  and  Percy,  Gibbon 
and  Sir  William  Jones,  Colman,  the  two  Wartons, 
Farmer,  Steevens,  Burney,  and  Malone,  Frere  and  George 
Ellis,  Hallam,  Milman,  Mountstuart  Elphinstone,  and 
Lord  Stanhope.  1/ 

"  Among  men  equally  conspicuous  in  letters  and  the 
Senate,  what  names  outshine  those  of  Burke  and  Sheri- 
dan, Canning,  Brougham,  and  Macaulay?  Of  states- 
men and  orators  proper,  the  Club  claims  Fox,  Wind- 
ham, Thomas  Grenville,  Lord  Liverpool ;  Lords  Lans- 
downe,  Aberdeen,  and  Clarendon.  Natural  science  is 
represented  by  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  in  the  last  century ; 
by  Professor  Owen  in  this.  Social  science  can  have  no 
nobler  representative  than  Adam  Smith ;  albeit,  Bos- 
well  did  think  the  Club  had  lost  caste  by  electing  him. 
Mr.  N.  W.  Senior  is  the  political  economist  of  the  pre- 
sent Club.  Whewell  must  stand  alone  as  the  embodi- 
ment of  omniscience,  which  before  him  was  unrepre- 
sented. Scholars  and  soldiers  may  be  equally  proud  of 
Rennel,  Leake,  and  Mure.     Besides  the  clergymen  al- 


THE    LITERARY   CLUB.  215 

ready  enumerated  as  authors,  the  Church  has  contri- 
buted a  creditable  list  of  bishops  and  inferior  dignita- 
ries :  Shipley  of  St.  Asaph,  Barnard  of  Killaloe,  Marley 
of  Pomfret,  Hinchcliffe  of  Peterborough,  Douglas  of 
Salisbury,  Blomfield  of  London,  Wilberforce  of  Oxford, 
Dean  Vincent  of  Westminster,  Archdeacon  Burney ;  and 
Dr.  Hawtrey,  late  master  and  present  provost  of  Eton. 

"  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  and  Sir  Charles  Eastlake  are 
its  two  chief  pillars  of  art,  slightly  unequal.  With  them 
we  may  associate  Sir  William  Chambers  and  Charles 
WTilkins.  The  presence  of  Drs.  Nugent,  Blagden,  For- 
dyce,  Warren,  Vaughan,  and  Sir  Henry  Halford,  is  a 
proof  that  in  the  Club  medicine  has  from  the  first  kept 
up  its  kinship  with  literature. 

"  The  profession  of  the  law  has  given  the  Society  Lord 
Ashburton,  Lord  Stowell,  and  Sir  William  Grant,  Charles 
Austin,  and  Pemberton  Leigh.  Lord  Overstone  may 
stand  as  the  symbol  of  money ;  unless  Sir  George  Corne- 
wall  Lewis  is  to  be  admitted  to  that  honour  by  virtue  of 
his  Chancellorship  of  the  Exchequer.  Sir  George  would, 
probably,  prefer  his  claims  to  Club  membership  as  a 
scholar  and  political  writer,  to  any  that  can  be  picked 
out  of  a  Budget. 

"  Take  it  all  in  all,  the  Literary  Club  has  never  de- 
generated from  the  high  standard  of  intellectual  gifts 
and  personal  qualities,  which  made  those  unpretending 
suppers  at  the  Turk's  Head  an  honour  eagerly  contended 
for  by  the  wisest,  wittiest,  and  noblest  of  the  eighteenth 
century." 

Malone,  in  1810,  gave  the  total  number  of  those  who 
had  been  members  of  the  Club  from  its  foundation,  at 
seventy-six,  of  whom  fifty-five  had  been  authors.  Since 
1810,  however,  literature  has  far  less  preponderance. 


216  CLUB  LIFE  OF  LONDON. 

The  designation  of  the  Society  has  been  again  changed 
to  "the  Johnson  Club."     Upon  the  taking  down  of  the 
Thatched  House  Tavern,    the   Club   removed    to    the 
Clarendon  Hotel,  in  Bond-street,  where  was  celebrated 
its  centenary,  in  September,  1864.     There  were  present, 
upon  this  memorable  occasion, — in  the  chair,  the  Dean 
of  St.  Paul's ;  his  Excellency  M.  Van  de  Weyer,  Earls 
Clarendon  and  Stanhope ;  the  Bishops  of  London  and 
Oxford;  Lords  Brougham,  Stanley,  Cranworth,  Kings- 
down,  and  Harry  Vane ;  the  Right  Hon.  Sir  Edmund 
Head,  Spencer  Walpole,  and  Robert  Lowe ;  Sir  Henry 
Holland,  Sir  C.  Eastlake,  Sir  "Roderick  Murchison,  Vice- 
Chancellor  Sir  W.  Page  Wood,  the  Master  of  Trinity, 
Professor  Owen,  Mr.  G.  Grote,  Mr.  C.  Austen,  Mr.  H. 
Reeve,  and  Mr.  G.  Richmond.     Among  the  few  mem- 
bers prevented  from  attending  were  the  Duke  of  Argyll 
(in  Scotland),   the  Earl  of  Carlisle  (in  Ireland),  Earl 
Russell,  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  Lord  Over- 
stone  (at  Oxford),  Lord  Glenelg  (abroad),  and  Mr.  W. 
Stirling  (from  indisposition).     Mr.  N.  W.  Senior,  who 
was  the  political  economist  of  the  Club,  died  in  June, 
preceding,  in  his  sixty-fourth  year. 

Hallam  and  Macaulay  were  among  the  constant  at- 
tendants at  its  dinners,  which  take  place  twice  a  month 
during  the  Parliamentary  season.  The  custody  of  the 
books  and  archives  of  the  Club  rests  with  the  secretary, 
Dr.  Milman,  the  venerable  Dean  of  St.  Paul's,  who  takes 
great  pride  and  pleasure  in  showing  to  literary  friends 
the  valuable  collection  of  autographs  which  these  books 
contain.  Among  the  memorials  is  the  portrait  of  Sir 
Joshua  Reynolds,  with  spectacles  on,  similar  to  the  pic- 
ture in  the  Royal  Collection :  this  portrait  was  painted 
and  presented  by  Sir  Joshua,  as  the  founder  of  the  Club. 


THE  LITERARY  CLUB.  217 

Lord  Macaulay  has  grouped,  with  his  accustomed  fe- 
licity of  language,  this  celebrated  congress  of  men  of 
letters. 

"  To  discuss  questions  of  taste,  of  learning,  of  casuistry, 
in  language  so  exact  and  so  forcible  that  it  might  have 
been  printed  without  the  alteration  of  a  word,  was  to 
Johnson  no  exertion,  but  a  pleasure.  He  loved,  as  he 
said,  to  fold  his  legs  and  have  his  talk  out.  He  was  ready 
to  bestow  the  overflowings  of  his  full  mind  on  anybody 
who  would  start  a  subject,  on  a  fellow-passenger  in  a  stage- 
coach, or  on  the  person  who  sat  at  the  same  table  with 
him  in  an  eating-house.  But  his  conversation  was  no- 
where so  brilliant  and  striking  as  when  he  was  surrounded 
by  a  few  friends,  whose  abilities  and  knowledge  enabled 
them,  as  he  once  expressed  it,  to  send  him  back  every  ball 
that  he  threw.  Some  of  these,  in  1764,  formed  themselves 
into  a  Club,  which  gradually  became  a  formidable  power 
in  the  commonwealth  of  letters.  The  verdicts  pronounced 
by  this  conclave  on  new  books  were  speedily  known  over  all 
London,  and  were  sufficient  to  sell  oif  a  whole  edition  in 
a  day,  or  to  condemn  the  sheets  to  the  service  of  the  trunk- 
maker  and  the  pastrycook.  Nor  shall  we  think  this 
strange  when  we  consider  what  great  and  various  talents 
and  acquirements  met  in  the  little  fraternity.  Goldsmith 
was  the  representative  of  poetry  and  light  literature, 
Reynolds  of  the  Arts,  Burke  of  political  eloquence  and 
political  philosophy.  There,  too,  were  Gibbon,  the 
greatest  historian,  and  Jones,  the  greatest  linguist  of  the 
age.  Garrick  brought  to  the  meetings  his  inexhaustible 
pleasantry,  his  incomparable  mimicry,  and  his  consum- 
mate knowledge  of  stage  effect.  Among  the  most  con- 
stant attendants  were  two  high-born  and  high-bred  gentle- 
men, closely  bound  together  by  friendship,  but  of  widely 


218  CLUB  LIFE  OF  LONDON. 

different  characters  and  habits, — Bennet  Langton,  distin- 
guished by  his  skill  in  Greek  literature,  by  the  orthodoxy 
of  his  opinions,  and  by  the  sanctity  of  his  life ;  and  Top- 
ham  Beauclerk,  renowned  for  his  amours,  his  knowledge 
of  the  gay  world,  his  fastidious  taste,  and  his  sarcastic  wit. 
To  predominate  over  such  a  society  was  not  easy.  Yet 
even  over  such  a  society  Johnson  predominated.  Burke 
might  indeed  have  disputed  the  supremacy  to  which  others 
were  under  the  necessity  of  submitting.  But  Burke, 
though  not  generally  a  very  patient  listener,  was  content 
to  take  the  second  part  when  Johnson  was  present ;  and 
the  Club  itself,  consisting  of  so  many  eminent  men,  is  to 
this  day  popularly  designated  as  Johnson's  Club." 

To  the  same  master-hand  we  owe  this  cabinet  picture. 
"  The  [Literary  Club]  room  is  before  us,  and  the  table  on 
which  stand  the  omelet  for  Nugent,  and  the  lemons  for 
Johnson.  There  are  assembled  those  heads  which  live  for 
ever  on  the  canvas  of  Reynolds.  There  are  the  spectacles 
of  Burke,  and  the  tall  thin  form  of  Langton;  the  courtly 
sneer  of  Beauclerk,  the  beaming  smile  of  Garrick,  Gib- 
bon tapping  his  snuff-box,  and  Sir  Joshua  with  his  trum- 
pet in  his  ear.  In  the  foreground  is  that  strange  figure 
which  is  as  familiar  to  us  as  the  figures  of  those  among 
whom  we  have  been  brought  up — the  gigantic  body,  the 
huge  massy  face,  seamed  with  the  scars  of  disease ;  the 
brown  coat,  the  black  worsted  stockings,  the  grey  wig 
with  the  scorched  foretop  ;  the  dirty  hands,  the  nails 
bitten  and  pared  to  the  quick.  We  see  the  eyes  and  the 
nose  moving  with  convulsive  twitches  ;  we  see  the  heavy 
form  rolling ;  we  hear  it  puffing ;  and  then  comes  the 
'Why,  Sir?'  and  the  '  What  then,  Sir?'  and  the  '  No, 
Sir  V  and  the  '  You  don't  see  your  way  through  the 
question,  Sir  !J  M 


219 


GOLDSMITH'S   CLUBS. 

However  Goldsmith  might  court  the  learned  circle  of 
the  Literary  Club,  he  was  ill  at  ease  there ;  and  he  had 
social  resorts  in  which  he  indemnified  himself  for  this 
restraint  by  indulging  his  humour  without  control.  One 
of  these  was  a  Shilling  Whist  Club,  which  met  at  the 
Devil  Tavern.  The  company  delighted  in  practical  jokes, 
of  which  Goldsmith  was  often  the  butt.  One  night,  he 
came  to  the  Club  in  a  hackney-coach,  when  he  gave  the 
driver  a  guinea  instead  of  a  shilling.  He  set  this  down 
as  a  dead  loss ;  but,  on  the  next  club-night,  he  was  told 
that  a  person  at  the  street-door  wanted  to  speak  to  him ; 
he  went  out,  and  to  his  surprise  and  delight,  the  coach- 
man had  brought  him  back  the  guinea  !  To  reward  such 
honesty,  he  collected  a  small  sum  from  the  Club,  and 
largely  increased  it  from  his  own  purse,  and  with  this 
reward  sent  away  the  coachman.  He  was  still  loud  in 
his  praise,  when  one  of  the  Club  asked  to  see  the  re- 
turned guinea.  To  Goldsmith's  confusion  it  proved  to  be 
a  counterfeit :  the  laughter  which  succeeded,  showed  him 
that  the  whole  was  a  hoax,  and  the  pretended  coachman 
as  much  a  counterfeit  as  the  guinea.  He  was  so  dis- 
concerted that  he  soon  beat  a  retreat  for  the  evening. 

Another  of  these  small  Clubs  met  on  Wednesday  even- 
ings, at  the  Globe  Tavern,  in  Fleet-street ;  where  songs, 
jokes,  dramatic  imitations,  burlesque  parodies,  and  broad 
sallies  of  humour,  were  the  entertainments.  Here  a  huge 
ton  of  a  man,  named  Gordon,  used  to  delight  Goldsmith 
with  singing  the  jovial  song  of  "  Nottingham  Ale,"  and 


220  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON. 

looking  like  a  butt  of  it.  Here  too,  a  wealthy  pig- 
butcher  aspired  to  be  on  the  most  sociable  terms  with 
Oliver;  and  here  was  Tom  King,  the  comedian,  recently- 
risen  to  eminence  by  his  performance  of  Lord  Ogleby, 
in  the  new  comedy  of  The  Clandestine  Marriage.  A 
member  of  note  was  also  one  Hugh  Kelly,  who  was  a 
kind  of  competitor  of  Goldsmith,  but  a  low  one ;  for 
Johnson  used  to  speak  of  him  as  a  man  who  had  written 
more  than  he  had  read.  Another  noted  frequenter  of 
the  Globe  and  Devil  taverns  was  one  Glover,  who,  having 
failed  in  the  medical  profession,  took  to  the  stage ;  but 
having  succeeded  in  restoring  to  life  a  malefactor  who 
had  just  been  executed,  he  abandoned  the  stage,  and  re- 
sumed his  wig  and  cane ;  and  came  to  London  to  dabble 
in  physic  and  literature.  He  used  to  amuse  the  com- 
pany at  the  Club  by  his  story-telling  and  mimicry, 
giving  capital  imitations  of  Garrick,  Foote,  Colman, 
Sterne,  and  others.  It  was  through  Goldsmith  that 
Glover  was  admitted  to  the  Wednesday  Club;  he  was, 
however,  greatly  shocked  by  the  free-and-easy  tone  in 
which  Goldsmith  was  addressed  by  the  pig-butcher ; 
"  Come,  Noll,"  he  would  say  as  he  pledged  him,  "  here's 
my  service  to  you,  old  boy." 

The  evening's  amusement  at  the  Wednesday  Club  was 
not,  however,  limited  ;  it  had  the  variety  of  epigram, 
and  here  was  first  heard  the  celebrated  epitaph,  (Gold- 
smith had  been  reading  Pope  and  Swift's  Miscellanies,) 
on  Edward  Purdon  : — 

11  Here  lies  poor  Ned  Purdon,  from  misery  freed, 
Who  long  was  a. bookseller's  hack  ; 
He  had  led  such  a  damnable  life  in  this  world, 
I  don't  think  he'll  wish  to  come  back." 

It  was  in  April  of  the  present  year  that  Purdon  closed 


GOLDSMITHS   CLUBS.  221 

his  luckless  life  by  suddenly  dropping  down  dead  in 
Smithfield ;  and  as  it  was  chiefly  Goldsmith's  pittance 
that  had  saved  him  thus  long  from  starvation,  it  was 
well  that  the  same  friend  should  give  him  his  solitary 
chance  of  escape  from  oblivion.  "  Doctor  Goldsmith 
made  this  epitaph/'  says  William  Ballantyne,  "in  his 
way  from  his  chambers  in  the  Temple  to  the  Wednesday 
evening  Club  at  the  Globe.  /  think  he  will  never  come 
hack,  I  believe  he  said;  I  was  sitting  by  him,  and  he  re- 
peated it  more  than  once.  /  think  he  will  never  come 
back  !  Ah  !  and  not  altogether  as  a  jest,  it  may  be,  the 
second  and  the  third  time.  There  was  something  in  Pur- 
don's  fate,  from  their  first  meeting  in  college  to  that  in- 
cident in  Smithfield,  which  had  no  very  violent  contrast 
to  his  own;  and  remembering  what  Glover  had  said  of 
his  frequent  sudden  descents  from  mirth  to  melancholy, 
some  such  faithful  change  of  temper  would  here  have 
been  natural  enough.  '  His  disappointments  at  these 
times/  Glover  tells  us,  'made  him  peevish  and  sullen, 
and  he  has  often  left  his  party  of  convivial  friends 
abruptly  in  the  evening,  in  order  to  go  home  and  brood 
over  his  misfortunes.'  But  a  better  medicine  for  his 
grief  than  brooding  over  it,  was  a  sudden  start  into  the 
country  to  forget  it ;  and  it  was  probably  with  a  feeling 
of  this  kind  he  had  in  the  summer  revisited  Islington  ; 
he  laboured  during  the  autumn  in  a  room  of  Canonbury 
Tower ;  and  often,  in  the  evening,  presided  at  the  Crown 
tavern,  in  Islington  Lower  Road,  where  Goldsmith  and 
his  fellow-lodgers  had  formed  a  kind  of  temporary  club. 
At  the  close  of  the  year  he  returned  to  the  Temple,  and 
was  again  pretty  constant  in  his  attendance  at  Gerard- 
street."* 

*  See  Forster's  Life  of  Goldsmith,  pp.  422-424. 


222  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON. 


THE  DILETTANTI  SOCIETY. 

The  origin  of  this  Society,  which  has  now  existed  some 
130  years,  is  due  to  certain  gentlemen,  who  had  travelled 
much  in  Italy,  and  were  desirous  of  encouraging  at  home 
a  taste  for  those  objects  which  had  contributed  so  much 
to  their  intellectual  gratification  abroad.  Accordingly, 
in  the  year  1734,  they  formed  themselves  into  a  Society, 
under  the  name  of  Dilettanti,  (literally,  lovers  of  the 
Fine  Arts,)  and  agreed  upon  certain  Regulations  to  keep 
up  the  spirit  of  their  scheme,  which  combined  friendly 
and  social  intercourse  with  a  serious  and  ardent  desire  to 
promote  the  Arts.  In  175],  Mr.  James  Stuart,  "Athenian 
Stuart,"  and  Mr.  Nicholas  Revett,  were  elected  members. 
The  Society  liberally  assisted  them  in  their  excellent 
work,  The  Antiquities  of  Athens.  In  fact  it  was,  in  great 
measure,  owing  to  this  Society  that  after  the  death  of  the 
above  two  eminent  architects,  the  work  was  not  entirely 
relinquished  ;  and  a  large  number  of  the  plates  were  en- 
graved from  drawings  in  the  possession  of  the  Dilettanti. 
Walpole,  speaking  in  1743,  of  the  Society,  in  connexion 
with  an  opera  subscription,  says,  "  The  nominal  qualifica- 
tion [to  be  a  member]  is  having  been  in  Italy,  and  the 
real  one,  being  drunk ;  the  two  chiefs  are  Lord  Middlesex 
and  Sir  Francis  Dashwood,  who  were  seldom  sober  the 
whole  time  they  were  in  Italy."  We  need  scarcely  add, 
that  the  qualifications  for  election  are  no  longer  what 
Walpole  described  them  to  have  been. 

In  1764,  the  Society  being  possessed  of  a  considerable 
sum  above  what  their  services  required,  various  schemes 


THE   DILETTANTI    SOCIETY.  223 

were  proposed  for  applying  part  of  this  money  ;  and  it 
was  at  length  resolved  ( '  that  a  person  or  persons  properly 
qualified,  should  be  sent,  with  sufficient  appointments, 
to  certain  parts  of  the  East,  to  collect  information  rela- 
tive to  the  former  state  of  those  countries,  and  particu- 
larly to  procure  exact  descriptions  of  the  ruins  of  such 
monuments  of  antiquity  as  are  yet  to  be  seen  in  those 
parts." 

Three  persons  were  elected  for  this  undertaking,  Mr. 
Chandler,  of  Magdalen  College,  Oxford,  editor  of  the 
Marmora  Oxoniensia,  was  appointed  to  execute  the  clas- 
sical part  of  the  plan.  Architecture  was  assigned  to 
Mr.  Revett;  and  the  choice  of  a  proper  person  for 
taking  views  and  copying  the  bas-reliefs,  fell  upon  Mr. 
Pars,  a  young  painter  of  promise.  Each  person  was 
strictly  enjoined  to  keep  a  regular  journal,  and  hold  a 
constant  correspondence  with  the  Society. 

The  party  embarked  on  June  9, 1764,  in  the  Anglicana, 
bound  for  Constantinople,  and  were  just  at  the  Darda- 
nelles on  the  25th  of  August.  Having  visited  the  Sigaean 
Promontory,  the  ruins  of  Troas,  with  the  islands  of 
Tenedos  and  Scio,  they  arrived  at  the  Smyrna  on  the  11th 
of  September.  From  that  city,  as  their  head-quarters, 
they  made  several  excursions.  On  the  20th  of  August, 
1765,  they  sailed  from  Smyrna,  and  arrived  at  Athens 
on  the  30th  of  the  same  month,  having  touched  at 
Sunium  and  iEgina  on  their  way.  They  staid  at  Athens 
till  June  11,  1766,  visiting  Marathon,  Eleusis,  Salamis, 
Megara,  and  other  places  in  the  neighbourhood.  Leaving 
Athens,  they  proceeded  by  the  little  island  of  Calauria 
to  Trezene,  Epidaurus,  Argos,  and  Corinth.  From  this 
they  visited  Delphi,  Patrse,  Elis,  and  Zante,  whence  they 
sailed  on  the  31st  of  August,  and  arrived  in  England  on 


224  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON. 

the  2nd  of  November  following,  bringing  with  them  an 
immense  number  of  drawings,  etc.,  the  result  of  which 
was  the  publication,  at  the  expense  of  the  Society,  of  two 
magnificent  volumes  of  Ionian  Antiquities.  The  results 
of  the  expedition  were  also  the  two  popular  works, 
Chandler's  Travels  in  Asia  Minor,  1775  ;  and  his  Travels 
in  Greece,  in  the  following  year ;  also,  the  volume  of 
Greek  Inscriptions,  1774,  containing  the  Sigsean  inscrip- 
tion, the  marble  of  which  has  been  since  brought  to  Eng- 
land by  Lord  Elgin  ;  and  the  celebrated  documents  con- 
taining the  reconstruction  of  the  Temple  of  Minerva 
Polias,  which  Professor  Wilkins  illustrated  in  his  Prolu- 
siones  Architectonics,  1837. 

Walpole,  in  1791,  has  this  odd  passage  upon  the  Io- 
nian Antiquities :  "  They  who  are  industrious  and  cor- 
rect, and  wish  to  forget  nothing,  should  go  to  Greece, 
where  there  is  nothing  left  to  be  seen,  but  that  ugly 
pigeon-house,  the  Temple  of  the  Winds,  that  fly-cage, 
Demosthenes' s  Lantern,  and  one  or  two  fragments  of  a 
portico,  or  a  piece  of  a  column  crushed  into  a  mud  wall; 
and  with  such  a  morsel,  and  many  quotations,  a  true 
classic  antiquary  can  compose  a  whole  folio,  and  call  it 
Ionian  Antiquities. " 

But,  it  may  be  asked,  how  came  the  Society  to  asso- 
ciate so  freely  pleasure  with  graver  pursuits  ?  To  this 
it  may  be  replied,  that  when  the  Dilettanti  first  met  they 
avowed  friendly  and  social  intercourse  the  first  object 
they  had  in  view,  although  they  soon  showed  that  they 
would  combine  with  it  a  serious  plan  for  the  promotion 
of  the  Arts  in  this  country.  For  these  persons  were  not 
scholars,  nor  even  men  of  letters ;  they  were  some  of 
the  wealthiest  noblemen  and  most  fashionable  men  of 
the  day,  who  would  naturally  sup  with  the  Regent  as  he 


THE   DILETTANTI  SOCIETY.  225 

went  through  Paris,  and  find  themselves  quite  at  home 
in  the  Carnival  of  Venice.  These,  too,  were  times  of 
what  would  now  be  considered  very  licentious  merriment 
and  very  unscrupulous  fun, — times  when  men  of  inde- 
pendent means  and  high  rank  addicted  themselves  to 
pleasure,  and  gave  vent  to  their  full  animal  spirits  with 
a  frankness  that  would  now  be  deemed  not  only  vulgar 
but  indecorous,  while  they  evinced  an  earnestness  about 
objects  now  thought  frivolous  which  it  is  very  easy  to 
represent  as  absurd.  In  assuming,  however,  the  name 
of  "  Dilettanti "  they  evidently  attached  to  it  no  light 
and  superficial  notion.  The  use  of  that  word  as  one  of 
disparagement  or  ridicule  is  quite  recent.  The  same 
may  be  said  of  "Virtu,"  which,  in  the  artistic  sense, 
does  not  seem  to  be  strictly  academical,  but  that  of 
"  Virtuoso  "  is  so,  undoubtedly,  and  it  means  the  "  ca- 
pable" man, — the  man  who  has  a  right  to  judge  on 
matters  requiring  a  particular  faculty  :  Dryden  says : 
"  Virtuoso  the  Italians  call  a  man  { who  loves  the  noble 
arts,  and  is  a  critic  in  them/  or,  as  old  Glanville  says, 
'  who  dwells  in  a  higher  region  than  other  mortals/ 

"  Thus,  when  the  Dilettanti  mention  c  the  cause  of 
virtue '  as  a  high  object  which  they  will  never  abandon, 
they  express  their  belief  that  the  union  into  which  they 
had  entered  had  a  more  important  purpose  than  any 
personal  satisfaction  could  give  it,  and  that  they  did  en- 
gage themselves  thereby  in  some  degree  to  promote  the 
advantage  of  their  country  and  of  mankind. 

"  Of  all  the  merry  meetings  these  gay  gentlemen  had 
together,  small  records  remain.  We,  looking  back  out 
of  a  graver  time,  can  only  judge  from  the  uninterrupted 
course  of  their  festive  gatherings,  from  the  names  of  the 
statesmen,  the  wits,  the  scholars,  the  artists,  the  ama- 

VOL.  I.  Q 


226  CLUB   LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

teurs,  that  fill  the  catalogue,,  from  the  strange  mixture 
of  dignities  and  accessions  to  wealth  for  which,  by  the 
rules  of  the  Society,  fines  were  paid, — and  above  all,  by 
the  pictures  which  they  possess, — how  much  of  the  plea- 
santry and  the  hearty  enjoyment  must  have  been  mixed 
up  with  the  more  solid  pursuits  of  the  Members.  Cast 
your  eye  over  the  list  of  those  who  met  together  at  the 
table  of  the  Dilettanti  any  time  between  1770  and  1790."* 
Here  occur  the  names  of  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  Earl 
Fitzwilliam,  Charles  James  Fox,  Hon.  Stephen  Fox 
(Lord  Holland),  Hon.  Mr.  Fitzpatrick,  Charles  How- 
ard (Duke  of  Norfolk),  Lord  Robert  Spencer,  George 
Selwyn,  Colonel  Fitzgerald,  Hon.  H.  Conway,  Joseph 
Banks,  Duke  of  Dorset,  Sir  William  Hamilton,  David 
Garrick,  George  Colman,  Joseph  Windham,  R.  Payne 
Knight,  Sir  George  Beaumont,  Towneley,  and  others  of 
less  posthumous  fame,  but  probably  of  not  less  agreeable 
companionship. 

The  funds  must  have  largely  benefited  by  the  payment 
of  fines,  some  of  which  were  very  strange.  Those  paid 
"  on  increase  of  income,  by  inheritance,  legacy,  marriage, 
or  preferment,"  are  very  odd ;  as,  five  guineas  by  Lord 
Grosvenor,  on  his  marriage  with  Miss  Leveson  Gower ; 
eleven  guineas  by  the  Duke  of  Bedford,  on  being  ap- 
pointed First  Lord  of  the  Admiralty ;  ten  guineas  com- 
pounded for  by  Bubb  Dodington,  as  Treasurer  of  the 
Navy ;  two  guineas  by  the  Duke  of  Kingston  for  a  Co- 
lonelcy of  Horse  (then  valued  at  400/.  per  annum) ; 
twenty-one  pounds  by  Lord  Sandwich  on  going  out  as 
Ambassador  to  the  Congress  at  Aix-la-Chapelle ;  and 
twopence  three-farthings  by  the  same  nobleman,  on 
becoming  Recorder  of  Huntingdon;  thirteen  shillings 
*  Edinburgh  Review,  No.  214,  p.  500. 


THE  DILETTANTI   SOCIETY.  227 

and  fourpence  by  the  Duke  of  Bedford,  on  getting  the 
Garter ;  and  sixteen  shillings  and  eightpence  (Scotch) 
by  the  Duke  of  Buccleuch,  on  getting  the  Thistle ; 
twenty-one  pounds  by  the  Earl  of  Holdernesse,  as  Se- 
cretary of  State;  and  nine  pounds,  nineteen  shillings 
and  sixpence,  by  Charles  James  Fox,  as  a  Lord  of  the 
Admiralty. 

In  1814,  another  expedition  was  undertaken  by  the 
Society,  when  Sir  William  Gell,  with  Messrs.  Gandy 
and  Bedford,  professional  architects,  proceeded  to  the 
Levant.  Smyrna  was  again  appointed  the  head-quarters 
of  the  mission,  and  fifty  pounds  per  month  was  assigned 
to  Gell,  and  two  hundred  pounds  per  annum  to  each  of 
the  architects.  An  additional  outlay  was  required  ;  and 
by  this  means  the  classical  and  antique  literature  of 
England  was  enriched  with  the  fullest  and  most  accurate 
descriptions  of  important  remains  of  ancient  art  hitherto 
given  to  the  world. 

The  contributions  of  the  Society  to  the  aesthetic 
studies  of  the  time  also  deserve  notice.  The  excellent 
design  to  publish  Select  Specimens  of  Antient  Sculpture 
preserved  in  the  several  Collections  of  Great  Britain  was 
carried  into  effect  by  Messrs.  Payne  Knight  and  Mr. 
Towneley,  2  vols,  folio,  1809-1835.  Then  followed  Mr. 
Penrose's  Investigations  into  the  Principles  of  Athenian 
Architecture,  printed  in  1851. 

About  the  year  1820,  those  admirable  monuments  of 
Grecian  art,  called  the  Bronzes  of  Siris,  were  discovered 
on  the  banks  of  that  river,  and  were  brought  to  this 
country  by  the  Chevalier  Brondsted.  The  Dilettanti 
Society  immediately  organized  a  subscription  of  800/., 
and  the  Trustees  of  the  British  Museum  completed  the 
purchase  by  the  additional  sum  of  200/. 

q  2 


228  CLUB   LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

It  was  mainly  through  the  influence  and  patronage  of 
the  Dilettanti  Society  that  the  Royal  Academy  obtained 
a  Charter.  In  1774,  the  interest  of  4000/.  three  per 
cents,  was  appropriated  by  the  former  for  the  purpose 
of  sending  two  students,  recommended  by  the  Royal 
Academy,  to  study  in  Italy  or  Greece  for  three  years. 

In  1835  appeared  a  Second  Volume  on  Ancient  Sculp- 
ture. The  Society  at  this  time  included,  among  a  list 
of  sixty-four  names  of  the  noble  and  learned,  those  of 
Sir  William  Gell,  Mr.  Towneley,  Richard  Westmacott, 
Henry  Hallam,  the  Duke  of  Bedford,  Sir  M.  A.  Shee, 
P.R.A.,  Henry  T.  Hope;  and  Lord  Prudhoe,  afterwards 
Duke  of  Northumberland. 

That  a  Society  possessing  so  much  wealth  and  social 
importance  as  the  Dilettanti  should  not  have  built  for 
themselves  a  mansion  is  surprising.  In  1747  they  ob- 
tained a  plot  of  ground  in  Cavendish  Square,  for  this 
purpose ;  but  in  1760,  they  disposed  of  the  property. 
Between  1761  and  1764  the  project  of  an  edifice  in  Pic- 
cadilly, on  the  model  of  the  Temple  of  Pola,  was  agi- 
tated by  the  Committee ;  two  sites  were  proposed,  one 
between  Devonshire  and  Bath  Houses,  the  other  on  the 
west  side  of  Cambridge  House.  This  scheme  was  also 
abandoned. 

Meanwhile  the  Society  were  accustomed  to  meet  at 
the  Thatched  House  Tavern,  the  large  room  of  which 
was  hung  with  portraits  of  the  Dilettanti.  Sir  Joshua 
Reynolds,  who  was  a  member,  painted  for  the  Society 
three  capital  pictures: — 1.  A  group  in  the  manner  of 
Paul  Veronese,  containing  the  portraits  of  the  Duke  of 
Leeds,  Lord  Dundas,  Constantine  Lord  Mulgrave,  Lord 
Seaforth,  the  Hon.  Charles  Greville,  Charles  Crowle,  Esq., 
and  Sir  Joseph  Banks.     2.  A  group  in  the  manner  of 


THE   DILETTANTI   SOCIETY.  229 

the  same  master,  containing  portraits  of  Sir  William 
Hamilton,  Sir  Watkin  W.  Wynne,  Richard  Thomson, 
Esq.,  Sir  John  Taylor,  Payne  Galway,  Esq.,  John 
S  my  the,  Esq.,  and  Spencer  S.  Stanhope,  Esq.  3.  Head 
of  Sir  Joshua,  dressed  in  a  loose  robe,  and  in  his  own 
hair.  The  earlier  portraits  are  by  Hudson,  Reynolds's 
master. 

Some  of  these  portraits  are  in  the  costume  familiar  to 
us  through  Hogarth ;  others  are  in  Turkish  or  Roman 
dresses.  There  is  a  mixture  of  the  convivial  in  all  these 
pictures  :  many  are  using  wine-glasses  of  no  small  size  : 
Lord  Sandwich,  for  instance,  in  a  Turkish  costume,  casts 
a  most  unorthodox  glance  upon  a  brimming  goblet  in 
his  left  hand,  while  his  right  holds  a  flask  of  great  capa- 
city. Sir  Bouchier  Wray  is  seated  in  the  cabin  of  a 
ship,  mixing  punch,  and  eagerly  embracing  the  bowl,  of 
which  a  lurch  of  the  sea  would  seem  about  to  deprive 
him  :  the  inscription  is  Dulce  est  desipere  in  loco.  Here 
is  a  curious  old  portrait  of  the  Earl  of  Holdernesse,  in  a 
red  cap,  as  a  gondolier,  with  the  Rialto  and  Venice  in 
the  background;  there  is  Charles  Sackville,  Duke  of 
Dorset,  as  a  Roman  senator,  dated  1738;  Lord  Gallo- 
way, in  the  dress  of  a  cardinal ;  and  a  very  singular  like- 
ness of  one  of  the  earliest  of  the  Dilettanti,  Lord  Le 
Despencer,  as  a  monk  at  his  devotions  :  his  Lordship  is 
clasping  a  brimming  goblet  for  his  rosary,  and  his  eyes 
are  not  very  piously  fixed  on  a  statue  of  the  Venus  de' 
Medici.  It  must  be  conceded  that  some  of  these  pic- 
tures remind  one  of  the  Medmenham  orgies,  with  which 
some  of  the  Dilettanti  were  not  unfamiliar.  The  ceiling 
of  the  large  room  was  painted  to  represent  sky,  and 
crossed  by  gold  cords  interlacing  each  other,  and  from 
their  knots  were  hung  three  large  glass  chandeliers. 


230  CLUB   LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

The  Thatched  House  has  disappeared,  but  the  pictures 
have  been  well  cared  for.  The  Dilettanti  have  removed 
to  another  tavern,  and  dine  together  on  the  first  Sunday 
in  every  month,  from  February  to  July.  The  late  Lord 
Aberdeen,  the  Marquises  of  Northampton  and  Lans- 
downe,  and  Colonel  Leake,  and  Mr.  Broderip,  were 
members;  as  was  also  the  late  Lord  North  wick,  whose 
large  collection  of  pictures  at  Thirlestane,  Cheltenham, 
was  dispersed  by  sale  in  1859. 


THE  ROYAL  NAVAL  CLUB. 

About  the  year  1674,  according  to  a  document  in  the 
possession  of  Mr.  Fitch  of  Norwich,  a  Naval  Club  was 
started  "  for  the  improvement  of  a  mutuall  Society,  and 
an  encrease  of  Love  and  Kindness  amongst  them ;"  and 
that  consummate  seaman,  Admiral  Sir  JohnKempthorne, 
was  declared  Steward  of  the  institution.  This  was  the 
precursor  of  the  Royal  Naval  Club  of  1765,  which, 
whether  considered  for  its  amenities  or  its  extensive 
charities,  may  be  justly  cited  as  a  model  establishment. 
(Admiral  Smyth's  Rise  and  Progress  of  the  Royal  So- 
ciety Club ,  p.  9.)  The  members  of  this  Club  annually 
distribute  a  considerable  sum  among  the  distressed 
widows  and  orphans  of  those  who  have  spent  their 
days  in  the  naval  service  of  their  country.  The  Club 
was  accustomed  to  dine  together  at  the  Thatched 
House  Tavern,  on  the  anniversary  of  the  Battle  of  the 
Nile. 

"  Founded  on  the  model  of  the  old  tavern  or  convi- 


THE   ROYAL   NAVAL   CLUB.  231 

vivial  Clubs,  but  confined  exclusively  to  members  of  the 
Naval  Service,  the  Royal  Naval  Club  numbered  among 
its  members  men  from  the  days  of  Boscawen,  Rodney, 
and  '  the  first  of  June 9  downwards.  It  was  a  favourite 
retreat  for  William  IV.  when  Duke  of  Clarence  ;  and  his 
comrade,  Sir  Philip  Durham,  the  survivor  of  Nelson,  and 
almost  the  last  of  the  '  old  school/  frequented  it.  Sir 
Philip,  however,  was  by  no  means  one  of  the  Trunnion 
class.  Coarseness  and  profane  language,  on  the  contrary, 
he  especially  avoided ;  but  in  ' spinning  a  yarn '  there 
has  been  none  like  him  since  the  days  of  Smollett.  The 
loss  of  the  Royal  George,  from  which  he  was  one  of  the 
few,  if,  indeed,  not  only  officer,  who  escaped,  was  a 
favourite  theme;  and  the  Admiral,  not  content  with 
having  made  his  escape,  was  wont  to  maintain  that  he 
swam  ashore  with  his  midshipman' s  dirk  in  his  teeth. 
Yet  Sir  Philip  would  allow  no  one  to  trench  on  his 
manor.  One  day,  when  a  celebrated  naval  captain,  with 
the  view  of  quizzing  him,  was  relating  the  loss  of  a  mer- 
chantman on  the  coast  of  South  America,  laden  with 
Spitalfields  products,  and  asserting  that  silk  was  so  plen- 
tiful, and  the  cargo  so  scattered,  that  the  porpoises  were 
for  some  hours  enmeshed  in  its  folds  :  c  Ay,  ay/  replied 
Sir  Philip,  f  I  believe  you ;  for  I  was  once  cruising  on 
that  coast  myself,  in  search  of  a  privateer,  and  having 
lost  our  fore-topsail  one  morning  in  a  gale  of  wind,  we 
next  day  found  it  tied  round  a  whale's  neck  by  way  of  a 
cravat/  Sir  Philip  was  considered  to  have  the  best  of 
it,  and  the  novelist  was  mute.""* 

*  London  Clubs,  1853. 


232 


THE   WYNDHAM   CLUB, 

This  Club,  which  partakes  of  the  character  of  Arthur's 
and  Boodle's,  was  founded  by  Lord  Nugent,  its  object 
being,  as  stated  in  Rule  1,  "to  secure  a  convenient  and 
agreeable  place  of  meeting  for  a  society  of  gentlemen, 
all  connected  with  each  other  by  a  common  bond  of 
literary  or  personal  acquaintance." 

The  Club,  No.  11,  St.  James Vsquare,  is  named  from 
the  mansion  having  been  the  residence  of  William  Wynd- 
ham,  who  has  been  described,  and  the  description  has 
been  generally  adopted  as  appropriate,  as  a  model  of  the 
true  English  gentleman  ;  and  the  fitness  of  the  Club 
designation  is  equally  characteristic.  He  was  an  accom- 
plished scholar  and  mathematician.  Dr.  Johnson,  writing 
of  a  visit  which  Wyndham  paid  him,  says :  "  Such  con- 
versation I  shall  not  have  again  till  I  come  back  to  the 
regions  of  literature,  and  there  Wyndham  is  '  inter  stellas 
luna  minores/  " 

In  the  mansion  also  lived  the  accomplished  John, 
Duke  of  Roxburghe ;  and  here  the  Roxburghe  Library 
was  sold  in  1812,  the  sale  extending  to  forty-one  days. 
Lord  Chief  Justice  Ellenborough  lived  here  in  1814;  and 
subsequently,  the  Earl  of  Blessington,  who  possessed  a 
fine  collection  of  pictures. 


233 


THE  TRAVELLERS'  CLUB. 

This  famous  Club  was  originated  shortly  after  the  Peace 
of  1814,  by  the  Marquis  of  Londonderry  (then  Lord 
Castlereagh) ,  with  a  view  to  a  resort  for  gentlemen  who 
had  resided  or  travelled  abroad,  as  well  as  with  a  view 
to  the  accommodation  of  foreigners,  who,  when  properly 
recommended,  receive  an  invitation  for  the  period  of 
their  stay.  One  of  the  Rules  directs  "  That  no  person 
be  considered  eligible  to  the  Travellers'  Club  who  shall 
not  have  travelled  out  of  the  British  Islands  to  a  dis- 
tance of  at  least  500  miles  from  London  in  a  direct 
line."  Another  Rule  directs  "  That  no  dice  and  no 
game  of  hazard  be  allowed  in  the  rooms  of  the  Club, 
nor  any  higher  stake  than  guinea  points,  and  that  no 
cards  be  introduced  before  dinner." 

Prince  Talleyrand,  during  his  residence  in  London, 
generally  joined  the  muster  of  whist-players  at  the 
Travellers' ;  probably,  here  was  the  scene  of  this  felicitous 
rejoinder.  The  Prince  was  enjoying  his  rubber,  when 
the  conversation  turned  on  the  recent  union  of  an  elderly 
lady  of  respectable  rank.     "  How  ever  could  Madame 

de  S make  such  a  match  ? — a  person  of  her  birth 

to  marry  a  valet-de-chambre  /"  "  Ah,"  replied  Talley- 
rand, ' '  it  was  late  in  the  game :  at  nine  we  don't  reckon 
honours." 

The  present  Travellers'  Club-house,  which  adjoins  the 
Athenseum  in  Pall-Mall,  was  designed  by  Barry,  R.A., 
and  built  in  1832.  It  is  one  of  the  architect's  most 
admired  works.     Yet,  we  have  seen  it  thus  treated,  with 


234  CLUB   LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

more  smartness  than  judgment,  by  a  critic  who  is  an- 
noyed at  its  disadvantageous  comparison  with  its  more 
gigantic  neighbours  : — 

"  The  Travellers '  is  worse,  and  looks  very  like  a 
sandwich  at  the  Swindon  station — a  small  stumpy  piece 
of  beef  between  two  huge  pieces  of  bread,  i.e.  the  Athe- 
naeum and  the  Eeform  Clubs,  which  look  as  if  they 
were  urging  their  migratory  neighbour  to  resume  the 
peregrinations  for  which  its  members  are  remarkable. 
Yet  people  have  their  names  down  ten  years  at  the 
Travellers'  previous  to  their  coming  up  for  ballot.  An 
election  reasonably  extended  would  supply  funds  for  a 
more  advantageous  and  extended  position/' 

The  architecture  is  the  nobler  Italian,  resembling  a 
Roman  palace  :  the  plan  is  a  quadrangle,  with  an  open 
area  in  the  middle,  so  that  all  the  rooms  are  well  lighted. 
The  Pall-Mali  front  has  a  bold  and  rich  cornice,  and  the 
windows  are  decorated  with  Corinthian  pilasters :  the 
garden  front  varies  in  the  windows,  but  the  Italian  taste 
is  preserved  throughout,  with  the  most  careful  finish  : 
the  roof  is  Italian  tiles.  To  be  more  minute,  the  consent 
of  all  competent  judges  has  assigned  a  very  high  rank 
to  this  building  as  a  piece  of  architectural  design ;  for  if, 
in  point  of  mere  quantity,  it  fall  greatly  short  of  many 
contemporary  structures,  it  surpasses  nearly  every  one 
of  them  in  quality,  and  in  the  artist-like  treatment.  In 
fact,  it  makes  an  epoch  in  our  metropolitan  architecture ; 
for  before,  we  had  hardly  a  specimen  of  that  nobler 
Italian  style,  which,  instead  of  the  flutter  and  flippery, 
and  the  littleness  of  manner,  which  pervade  most  of  the 
productions  of  the  Palladian  school,  is  characterized  by 
breath  and  that  refined  simplicity  arising  from  unity  of 
idea  and  execution,  and  from  every  part  being  consist- 


THE   TRAVELLERS'   CLUB.  235 

ently  worked  up,  yet  kept  subservient  to  one  predomi- 
nating effect.  Unfortunately,  the  south  front,  which 
is  by  far  the  more  striking  and  graceful  composition, 
is  comparatively  little  seen,  being  that  facing  Carlton 
Gardens,  and  not  to  be  approached  so  as  to  be  studied 
as  it  deserves ;  but  when  examined,  it  certainly  must  be 
allowed  to  merit  all  the  admiration  it  has  obtained. 
Though  perfect,  quiet,  and  sober  in  effect,  and  unosten- 
tatious in  character,  this  building  of  Barry's  is  re- 
markable for  the  careful  finish  bestowed  on  every  part 
of  it.  It  is  this  quality,  together  with  the  taste  displayed 
in  the  design  generally,  that  renders  it  an  architectural 
bijou.  Almost  any  one  must  be  sensible  of  this,  if  he 
will  but  be  at  the  pains  to  compare  it  with  the  United 
Service  Club,  eastward  of  which,  as  far  as  mere  quantity 
goes,  there  is  much  more. 

Another  critic  remarks  :  "  The  Travellers'  fairly  makes 
an  epoch  in  the  architectural  history  of  Club-houses,  as 
being  almost  the  first,  if  not  the  very  first,  attempt,  to 
introduce  into  this  country  that  species  of  rich  astylar 
composition  which  has  obtained  the  name  of  the  Italian 
palazzo  mode,  by  way  of  contradistinction  from  Palla- 
dianism  and  its  orders.  This  production  of  Barry's  has 
given  a  fresh  impulse  to  architectural  design,  and  one  in 
a  more  artistic  direction ;  and  the  style  adopted  by  the 
architect  has  been  applied  to  various  other  buildings 
in  the  provinces  as  well  as  in  the  metropolis ;  and  its 
influence  has  manifested  itself  in  the  taste  of  our  recent 
street  architecture." 

The  Travellers'  narrowly  escaped  destruction  on  Oc- 
tober 24,  1850,  when  a  fire  did  great  damage  to  the 
billiard-rooms,  which  were,  by  the  way,  an  afterthought, 
and  addition  to  the  original  building,  but  by  no  means 


236  CLUB  LIFE   OF  LONDON, 

an  improvement  upon  the  first  design,  for  they  greatly 
impaired  the  beauty  of  the  garden-front. 


THE  UNITED  SERVICE  CLUE, 

One  of  the  oldest  of  the  modern  Clubs,  was  instituted 
the  year  after  the  Peace  of  1815,  when  a  few  officers  of 
influence  in  both  branches  of  the  Service  had  built  for 
them,  by  Sir  R.  Smirke,  a  Club-house  at  the  corner  of 
Charles- street  and  Regent-street, — a  frigid  design,  some- 
what relieved  by  sculpture  on  the  entrance-front,  of 
Britannia  distributing  laurels  to  her  brave  sons  by  land 
and  sea.  Thence  the  Club  removed  to  a  more  spacious 
house,  in  Waterloo-place,  facing  the  Athenaeum  ;  the 
Club-house  in  Charles-street  being  entered  on  by  the 
Junior  United  Service  Club ;  but  Smirke's  cold  design 
has  been  displaced  by  an  edifice  of  much  more  ornate 
exterior  and  luxurious  internal  appliances. 

The  United  Service  Club  (Senior)  was  designed  by 
Nash,  and  has  a  well-planned  interior,  exhibiting  the 
architect's  well-known  excellence  in  this  branch  of  his 
profession.  The  principal  front  facing  Pall  Mall  has  a 
Roman-Doric  portico;  and  above  it  a  Corinthian  por- 
tico, with  pediment.  One  of  the  patriarchal  members 
of  the  Club  was  Lord  Lynedoch,  the  hero  of  the  Penin- 
sular War,  who  lived  under  five  sovereigns  :  he  died  in 
his  93rd  year,  leaving  behind  him  a  name  to  be  held 
in  honoured  remembrance,  while  loyalty  is  considered 
to  be  a  real  virtue,  or  military  renown  a  passport  to 
fame.     It  is  a  curious  fact  that  the  Duke  of  Wellington 


THE  ALFKED   CLUB.  237 

fought  his  last  battle  at  an  earlier  period  of  life  than 
that  in  which  Lord  Lynedoch  "  fleshed  his  maiden 
sword ;"  and  though  we  were  accustomed  to  regard  the 
Duke  himself  as  preserving  his  vigour  to  a  surprisingly- 
advanced  age.  Lord  Lynedoch  was  at  his  death  old 
enough  to  have  been  the  father  of  his  Grace.  The 
United  Service  was  the  favourite  Club  of  the  Duke,  who 
might  often  be  seen  dining  here  on  a  joint;  and  on 
one  occasion,  when  he  was  charged  Is.  3d.  instead  of 
\s.  for  it,  he  bestirred  himself  till  the  threepence  was 
struck  off.  The  motive  was  obvious  :  he  took  the  trouble 
of  objecting,  so  that  he  might  sanction  the  principle. 

Among  the  Club  pictures  is  Jones's  large  painting  of 
the  Battle  of  Waterloo ;  and  the  portrait  of  the  Duke 
of  Wellington,  painted  for  the  Club  by  W.  Robinson. 
Here  also  are  Stanfield's  fine  picture  of  the  Battle  of 
Trafalgar;  and  a  copy,  by  Lane,  painted  in  1851,  of  a 
contemporary  portrait  of  Sir  Francis  Drake,  our  "  Eli- 
zabethan Sea- King."  The  Club-house  has  of  late  years 
been  considerably  enlarged. 


THE  ALFRED  CLUB. 

In  the  comparatively  quiet  Albemarle-street  was  in- 
stituted, in  1808,  the  Alfred  Club,  which  has,  ab  initio, 
been  remarkable  for  the  number  of  travellers  and  men 
of  letters,  who  form  a  considerable  proportion  of  its  mem- 
bers. Science  is  handsomely  housed  at  the  Royal  In- 
stitution, on  the  east  side  of  the  street ;  and  literature 
nobly  represented  by  the  large  publishing-house  of  Mr. 


238  CLUB  LIFE    OF    LONDON. 

Murray,  on  the  west ;  both  circumstances  tributary  to 
the  otium  enjoyed  in  a  Club.  Yet,  strangely  enough,  its 
position  has  been  a  frequent  source  of  banter  to  the 
Alfred.  First  it  was  known  by  its  cockney  appellation 
of  Half-read.  Lord  Byron  was  a  member,  and  he  tells 
us  that  u  it  was  pleasant,  a  little  too  sober  and  literary, 
and  bored  with  Sotheby  and  Francis  D'lvernois;  but 
one  met  Rich,  and  Ward,  and  Valentia,  and  many  other 
pleasant  or  known  people;  and  it  was,  in  the  whole,  a 
decent  resource  in  a  rainy  day,  in  a  dearth  of  parties,  or 
Parliament,  or  in  an  empty  season." 

Lord  Dudley,  writing  to  the  Bishop  of  Llandaff,  says  : 
"  I  am  glad  you  mean  to  come  into  the  Alfred  this  time. 
We  are  the  most  abused,  and  most  envied,  and  most 
canvassed,  Society  that  I  know  of,  and  we  deserve  neither 
the  one  nor  the  other  distinction.  The  Club  is  not  so 
good  a  resource  as  many  respectable  persons  would  be- 
lieve, nor  are  we  by  any  means  such  quizzes  or  such 
bores  as  the  wags  pretend.  A  duller  place  than  the 
Alfred  there  does  not  exist.  I  should  not  choose  to  be 
quoted  for  saying  so,  but  the  bores  prevail  there  to  the 
exclusion  of  every  other  interest.  You  hear  nothing  but 
idle  reports  and  twaddling  opinions.  They  read  the 
Morning  Post  and  the  British  Critic.  It  is  the  asylum 
of  doting  Tories  and  drivelling  quidnuncs.  But  they 
are  civil  and  quiet.  You  belong  to  a  much  better  Club 
already.     The  eagerness  to  get  into  it  is  prodigious." 

Then,  we  have  the  Quarterly  Review,  with  confirma- 
tion strong  of  the  two  Lords  : — "  The  Alfred  received  its 
coup-de-grdce  from  a  well-known  story,  (rather  an  indi- 
cation than  a  cause  of  its  decline,)  to  the  effect  that  Mr. 
Canning,  whilst  in  the  zenith  of  his  fame,  dropped  in  ac- 
cidentally at  a  house  dinner  of  twelve  or  fourteen,  stayed 


THE   ORIENTAL    CLUB.  239 

out  the  evening,  and  made  himself  remarkably  agreeable, 
without  any  one  of  the  party  suspecting  who  he  was." 

The  dignified  clergy,  who,  with  the  higher  class  of 
lawyers,  have  long  ago  emigrated  to  the  Athenaeum  and 
University  Clubs,  formerly  mustered  in  such  great  force 
at  the  Alfred,  that  Lord  Alvanley,  on  being  asked  in  the 
bow- window  at  White's,  whether  he  was  still  a  member, 
somewhat  irreverently  replied  :  "  Not  exactly  :  I  stood 
it  as  long  as  I  could,  but  when  the  seventeenth  bishop 
was  proposed  I  gave  in.  I  really  could  not  enter  the  place 
without  being  put  in  mind  of  my  catechism."  "  Sober- 
minded  people,"  says  the  Quarterly  Review,  "may  be 
apt  to  think  this  formed  the  best  possible  reason  for  his 
lordship's  remaining  where  he  was.  It  is  hardly  neces- 
sary to  say  that  the  presence  of  the  bishops  and  judges  is 
universally  regarded  as  an  unerring  test  of  the  high  cha- 
racter of  a  Club." 


THE   ORIENTAL   CLUB. 

Several  years  ago,  the  high  dignitaries  of  the  Church 
and  Law  kept  the  Alfred  to  themselves ;  but  this  would 
not  do  :  then  they  admitted  a  large  number  of  very  re- 
spectable good  young  men,  who  were  unexceptionable, 
but  not  very  amusing.  This,  again,  would  not  do.  So, 
now  the  Alfred  joined,  1855,  the  Oriental,  in  Hanover- 
square.  And  curiously  enough,  the  latter  Club  has  been 
quizzed  equally  with  the  Alfred.  In  the  merry  days  of 
the  New  Monthly  Magazine  of  some  thirty  years  since,  we 
read  : — "  The   Oriental — or,  as  the   hackney-coachmen 


240  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON, 

call  it,  the  Horizontal  Club — in  Han  over- square,  outdoes 
even  Arthur's  for  quietude.  Placed  at  the  corner  of  a 
cul-de-sac — at  least  as  far  as  carriages  are  concerned, 
and  in  a  part  of  the  Square  to  which  nobody  not  pro- 
ceeding to  one  of  four  houses  which  occupy  that  particu- 
lar side  ever  thinks  of  going,  its  little  windows,  looking 
upon  nothing,  give  the  idea  of  mingled  'dulness  and  in- 
convenience. From  the  outside  it  looks  like  a  prison ; 
— enter  it,  it  looks  like  an  hospital,  in  which  a  smell  of 
curry-powder  pervades  the  *  wards/ — wards  filled  with 
venerable  patients,  dressed  in  nankeen  shorts,  yellow 
stockings,  and  gaiters,  and  faces  to  match.  There  may 
still  be  seen  pigtails  in  all  their  pristine  perfection.  It 
is  the  region  of  calico  shirts,  returned  writers,  and  guinea- 
pigs  grown  into  bores.  Such  is  the  nabobery,  into  which 
Harley- street,  Wimpole-street,  and  Glocester- place,  daily 
empty  their  precious  stores  of  bilious  humanity/'  Time 
has  blunted  the  point  of  this  satiric  picture,  the  indivi- 
dualities of  which  had  passed  away,  even  before  the 
amalgamation  of  the  Oriental  with  the  Alfred. 

The  Oriental  Club  was  established  in  1824,  bv  Sir 
John  Malcolm,  the  traveller  and  brave  soldier.  The 
members  were  noblemen  and  gentlemen  associated  with 
the  administration  of  our  Eastern  empire,  or  who  have 
travelled  or  resided  in  Asia,  at  St.  Helena,  in  Egypt,  at 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  the  Mauritius,  or  at  Constanti- 
nople. 

The  Oriental  was  erected  in  1827-8,  by  B.  and  P. 
Wyatt,  and  has  the  usual  Club  characteristic  of  only  one 
tier  of  windows  above  the  ground-floor ;  the  interior  has 
since  been  redecorated  and  embellished  by  Collman. 


241 


THE  ATHENAEUM  CLUB. 

The  Athenaeum  presents  a  good  illustration  of  the 
present  Club  system,  of  which  it  was  one  of  the  earliest 
instances.  By  reference  to  the  accounts  of  the  Clubs 
existing  about  the  commencement  of  the  present  century, 
it  will  be  seen  how  greatly  they  differed,  both  in  consti- 
tution and  purpose,  from  the  modern  large  subscription- 
houses,  called  Clubs ;  and  which  are  to  be  compared  with 
their  predecessors  only  in  so  far  as  every  member  must 
be  balloted  for,  or  be  chosen  by  the  consent  of  the  rest. 
Prior  to  1824,  there  was  only  one  institution  in  the  me- 
tropolis particularly  devoted  rto  the  association  of  Au- 
thors, Literary  Men,  Members  of  Parliament,  and  pro- 
moters generally  of  the  Fine  Arts.  All  other  establish- 
ments were  more  or  less  exclusive,  comprising  gentlemen 
who  screened  themselves  in  the  windows  of  White's, 
or  Members  for  Counties  who  darkened  the  doors  of 
Brookes's;  or  they  were  dedicated  to  the  Guards,  or 
"  men  of  wit  and  pleasure  about  town."  It  is  true  that 
the  Royal  Society  had  its  convivial  meetings,  as  we  have 
already  narrated ;  and  small  Clubs  of  members  of  other 
learned  Societies,  were  held;  but  with  these  exceptions, 
there  were  no  Clubs  where  individuals  known  for  their 
scientific  or  literary  attainments,  artists  of  eminence  in 
any  class  of  the  Fine  Arts,  and  noblemen  and  gentlemen 
distinguished  as  patrons  of  science,  literature,  and  the  arts, 
could  unite  in  friendly  and  encouraging  intercourse;  and 
professional  men  were  compelled  either  to  meet  at  taverns, 
or  to  be  confined  exclusively  to  the  Society  of  their  par- 
ticular professions. 

VOL.  I.  R 


242  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON. 

To  remedy  this,  on  the  17th  of  February,  1824,  a 
preliminary  meeting, — comprising  Sir  Humphry  Davy, 
the  Hight  Hon.  John  Wilson  Croker,  Sir  Francis  Chan- 
trey,  Richard  Heber,  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence,  Dr.  Thomas 
Young,  Lord  Dover,  Davie  Gilbert,  the  Earl  of  Aberdeen, 
Sir  Henry  Halford,  Sir  Walter  Scott,  Joseph  Jekyll, 
Thomas  Moore,  and  Charles  Hatchett, — was  held  in  the 
apartments  of  the  Royal  Society,  at  Somerset  House;  at 
this  meeting  Professor  Faraday  assisted  as  secretary, 
and  it  was  agreed  to  institute  a  Club  to  be  called  "  The 
Society/'  subsequently  altered  to  "The  Athenaeum. " 
"  The  Society  "  first  met  in  the  Clarence  Club-house ; 
but,  in  1830,  the  present  mansion,  designed  by  Decimus 
Burton,  was  opened  to  the  members. 

The  Athenaeum  Club-house  is  built  upon  a  portion  of 
the  court-yard  of  Carlton  House.  The  architecture  is 
Grecian,  with  a  frieze  exactly  copied  from  the  Panathe- 
naic  procession  in  the  frieze  of  the  Parthenon,  —  the 
flower  and  beauty  of  Athenian  youth,  gracefully  seated 
on  the  most  exquisitely  sculptured  horses,  which  Flax- 
man  regarded  as  the  most  precious  example  of  Grecian 
power  in  the  sculpture  of  animals.  Over  the  Roman 
Doric  entrance-portico  is  a  colossal  figure  of  Minerva, 
by  Baily,  R.A. ;  and  the  interior  has  some  fine  casts  of 
chefs-d'oeuvre  of  sculpture.  Here  the  architecture  is 
grand,  massive,  and  severe.  The  noble  Hall,  35  feet 
broad  by  57  feet  long,  is  divided  by  scagliola  columns  and 
pilasters,  the  capitals  copied  from  the  Choragic  Monu- 
ment of  Lysicrates.  This  is  the  Exchange,  or  Lounge, 
where  the  members  meet.  The  floor  is  the  Marmorato 
Veneziano  mosaic.  Over  each  of  the  two  fire-places,  in 
a  niche,  is  a  statue — the  Diana  Robing  and  the  Venus 
Victrix,  selected  by  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence — a  very  fine 


THE   ATHENAEUM    CLUB.  243 

contrivance  for  sculptural  display.  The  Library  is  the 
best  Club  Library  in  London  :  it  comprises  the  most  rare 
and  valuable  works,  and  a  very  considerable  sum  is  an- 
nually expended  upon  the  collection,  under  the  guidance 
of  members  most  eminent  in  literature  and  science. 
Above  the  mantelpiece  is  a  portrait  of  George  IV.,  paint- 
ed by  Lawrence,  upon  which  he  was  engaged  but  a  few 
hours  previous  to  his  decease ;  the  last  bit  of  colour  this 
celebrated  artist  ever  put  upon  canvas  being  that  of 
the  hilt  and  sword-knot  of  the  girdle ;  thus  it  remains 
unfinished.  The  bookcases  of  the  drawing-rooms  are 
crowned  with  busts  of  British  worthies.  Among  the 
Club  gossip  it  is  told  that  a  member  who  held  the 
Library  faith  of  the  promise  of  the  Fathers,  and  was  anx- 
ious to  consult  their  good  works,  one  day  asked,  in  a 
somewhat  familiar  tone  of  acquaintance  with  these  re- 
spectable theologians, "  Is  Justin  Martyr  here  ¥* — "I  do 
not  know/'  was  the  reply;  "  I  will  refer  to  the  list,  but 
I  do  not  think  that  gentleman  is  one  of  our  members." 

Mr.  Walker,  in  his  very  pleasant  work,  The  Original, 
was  one  of  the  first  to  show  how  by  the  then  new  sys- 
tem of  Clubs  the  facilities  of  living  were  wonderfully  in- 
creased, whilst  the  expense  was  greatly  diminished.  For 
a  few  pounds  a  year,  advantages  are  to  be  enjoyed  which 
no  fortunes,  except  the  most  ample,  can  procure.  The 
only  Club  (he  continues)  I  belong  to  is  the  Athenaeum, 
which  consists  of  twelve  hundred  members,  amongst 
whom  are  to  be  reckoned  a  large  proportion  of  the  most 
eminent  persons  in  the  land,  in  every  line, — civil,  mili- 
tary, and  ecclesiastical, — peers  spiritual  and  temporal 
(ninety-five  noblemen  and  twelve  bishops),  commoners, 
men  of  the  learned  professions,  those  connected  with 
science,   the    arts,   and  commerce,  in   all  its  principal 

r  2 


244  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON. 

branches,  as  well  as  the  distinguished  who  do  not  belong 
to  any  particular  class.  Many  of  these  are  to  be  met 
with  every  day,  living  with  the  same  freedom  as  in  their 
own  houses,  for  25  guineas  entrance,  and  6  guineas  a 
year.  Every  member  has  the  command  of  an  excellent 
library,  with  maps;  of  newspapers,  English  and  foreign; 
the  principal  periodicals ;  writing  materials,  and  atten- 
dance. The  building  is  a  sort  of  palace,  and  is  kept  with 
the  same  exactness  and  comfort  as  a  private  dwelling. 
Every  member  is  master,  without  any  of  the  trouble  of  a 
master :  he  can  come  when  he  pleases,  and  stay  away 
when  he  pleases,  without  anything  going  wrong ;  he  has 
the  command  of  regular  servants,  without  having  to  pay 
or  manage  them  ;  he  can  have  whatever  meal  or  refresh- 
ment he  wants,  at  all  hours,  and  served  up  as  in  his  own 
house.  He  orders  just  what  he  pleases,  having  no  interest 
to  think  of  but  his  own.  In  short,  it  is  impossible  to 
suppose  a  greater  degree  of  liberty  in  living. 

"  Clubs,  as  far  as  my  observation  goes,  are  favourable 
to  economy  of  time.  There  is  a  fixed  place  to  go  to, 
everything  is  served  with  comparative  expedition,  and  it 
is  not  customary  in  general  to  remain  long  at  table. 
They  are  favourable  to  temperance.  It  seems  that  when 
people  can  freely  please  themselves,  and  when  they  have 
an  opportunity  of  living  simply,  excess  is  seldom  com- 
mitted. From  an  account  I  have  of  the  expenses  at  the 
Athenaeum  in  the  year  1832,  it  appears  that  17,323 
dinners  cost,  on  an  average,  2s.  9|c?.  each,  and  that  the 
average  quantity  of  wine  for  each  person  was  a  small 
fraction  more  than  half-a-pint. 

"  The  expense  of  building  the  Club-house  was  35,000/., 
and  5,000/.  for  furnishing  ;  the  plate,  linen,  and  glass  cost 
2,500/. ;  library,  4,000/.,  and  the  stock  of  wine  in  cellar  is 


THE   ATHENAEUM   CLUB.  245 

usually  worth  about  4000/. :  yearly  revenue  about  9000/. 

The  economical  management  of  the  Club  has  not, 
however,  been  effected  without  a  few  sallies  of  humour. 
In  1834,  we  read  :  "  The  mixture  of  Whigs,  Radicals, 
savants,  foreigners,  dandies,  authors,  soldiers,  sailors, 
lawyers,  artists,  doctors,  and  Members  of  both  Houses 
of  Parliament,  together  with  an  exceedingly  good  aver- 
age supply  of  bishops,  render  the  melange  very  agreeable, 
despite  of  some  two  or  three  bores,  who  '  continually  do 
dine  ;3  and  who,  not  satisfied  with  getting  a  6s.  dinner 
for  3s.  6d.,  '  continually  do  complain/  " 

Mr.  Rogers,  the  poet,  was  one  of  the  earliest  mem- 
bers of  the  Athenaeum,  and  innumerable  are  the  good 
things,  though  often  barbed  with  bitterness,  which  are 
recorded  of  him. 

Some  years  ago,  judges,  bishops,  and  peers  used  to 
congregate  at  the  Athenaeum  ;  but  a  club  of  twelve  hun- 
dred members  cannot  be  select.  "  Warned  by  the  ne- 
cessity of  keeping  up  their  number  and  their  funds, 
they  foolishly  set  abroad  a  report  that  the  finest  thing 
in  the  world  was  to  belong  to  the  Athenaeum ;  and  that 
an  opportunity  offered  for  hobnobbing  with  archbishops, 
and  hearing  Theodore  Hook's  jokes.  Consequently  all 
the  little  crawlers  and  parasites,  and  gentility-hunters, 
from  all  corners  of  London,  set  out  upon  the  creep;  and 
they  crept  in  at  the  windows  and  they  crept  down  the  area 
steps,  and  they  crept  in  unseen  at  the  doors,  and  they 
crept  in  under  bishops'  sleeves,  and  they  crept  in  in 
peers'  pockets,  and  they  were  blown  in  by  the  winds  of 
chance.  The  consequence  has  been,  that  ninety-nine 
hundredths  of  this  Club  are  people  who  rather  seek  to 
obtain  a  sort  of  standing  by  belonging  to  the  Athe- 
naeum, than  to  give  it  lustre  by  the  talent  of  its  mem- 


246  CLUB   LIFE   IN   LONDON. 

bers.  Nine- tenths  of  the  intellectual  writers  of  the  age 
would  be  certainly  black-balled  by  the  dunces.  Not- 
withstanding all  this,  and  partly  on  account  of  this,  the 
Athenseum  is  a  capital  Club  :  the  library  is  certainly  the 
best  Club  library  in  London,  and  is  a  great  advantage 
to  a  man  who  writes."* 

Theodore  Hook  was  one  of  the  most  clubbable  men  of 
his  time.  After  a  late  breakfast,  he  would  force  and 
strain  himself  at  large  arrears  of  literary  toil,  and  then 
drive  rapidly  from  Fulham  to  town,  and  pay  a  visit 
"  first  to  one  Club,  where,  the  centre  of  an  admiring 
circle,  his  intellectual  faculties  were  again  upon  the 
stretch,  and  again  aroused  and  sustained  by  artificial 
means  :  the  same  thing  repeated  at  a  second — the  same 
drain  and  the  same  supply — ballot  or  general  meeting 
at  a  third,  the  chair  taken  by  Mr.  Hook,  who  addresses 
the  members,  produces  the  accounts,  audits  and  passes 
them — gives  a  succinct  statement  of  the  prospects  and 
finances  of  the  Society — parries  an  awkward  question — 
extinguishes  a  grumbler — confounds  an  opponent — pro- 
poses a  vote  of  thanks  to  himself,  seconds,  carries  it, — 
and  returns  thanks,  with  a  vivacious  rapidity  that  en- 
tirely confounds  the  unorganized  schemes  of  the  mino- 
rity— then  a  chop  in  the  committee-room,  and  just  one 
tumbler  of  brandy-and-water,  or  two,  and  we  fear  the 
catalogue  would  not  always  close  there." 

At  the  Athenseum,  Hook  was  a  great  card ;  and  in 
a  note  to  the  sketch  of  him  in  the  Quarterly  Review, 
it  is  stated  that  the  number  of  dinners  at  this  Club 
fell  off  by  upwards  of  three  hundred  per  annum  after 
Hook  disappeared  from  his  favourite  corner,  near  the 
door  of  the  coffee-room.  That  is  to  say,  there  must 
*  New  Quarterly  Review. 


THE   UNIVERSITY   CLUB.  247 

have  been  some  dozens  of  gentlemen  who  chose  to  dine 
there  once  or  twice  every  week  of  the  season,  merely  for 
the  chance  of  Hook's  being  there,  and  permitting  them 
to  draw  their  chairs  to  his  little  table  in  the  course  of 
the  evening.  Of  the  extent  to  which  he  suffered  from 
this  sort  of  invasion,  there  are  several  bitter  oblique 
complaints  in  his  novels.  The  corner  alluded  to  will, 
we  suppose,  long  retain  the  name  which  it  derived  from 
him — Temperance  Corner.  Many  grave  and  dignified 
personages  being  frequent  guests,  it  would  hardly  have 
been  seemly  to  be  calling  for  repeated  supplies  of  a  cer- 
tain description;  but  the  waiters  well  understood  what 
the  oracle  of  the  corner  meant  by  "  Another  glass  of 
toast  and-water,"  or,  a  A  little  more  lemonade." 


THE   UNIVERSITY   CLUB, 

In  Suffolk-street,  Pall  Mall  East,  was  instituted  in  1824, 
and  the  Club-house,  designed  by  Deering  and  Wilkins, 
architects,  was  opened  1 826.  It  is  of  the  Grecian  Doric 
and  Ionic  orders ;  and  the  staircase  walls  have  casts  from 
the  Parthenon  frieze.  The  Club  consists  chiefly  of 
Members  of  Parliament  who  have  received  University 
education  ;  several  of  the  judges,  and  a  large  number  of 
beneficed  clergymen.  This  Club  has  the  reputation  of 
possessing  the  best  stocked  wine-cellar  in  London,  which 
is  of  no  small  importance  to  Members,  clerical  or  lay. 


248  CLUB  LIFE  OF  LONDON. 


ECONOMY   OF   CLUBS. 

Thirty  years  ago,  Mr.  Walker  took  some  pains  to  dis- 
abuse the  public  mind  of  a  false  notion  that  female 
society  was  much  affected  by  the  multiplication  of  Clubs. 
Pie  remarks  that  in  those  hours  of  the  evening,  which  are 
peculiarly  dedicated  to  society,  he  could  scarcely  count 
twenty  members  in  the  suite  of  rooms  upstairs  at  the 
Athenaeum  Club.  If  female  society  be  neglected,  he 
contended  that  it  was  not  owing  to  the  institution  of 
Clubs,  but  more  probably  to  the  long  sittings  of  the 
House  of  Commons,  and  to  the  want  of  easy  access  to 
family  circles.  At  the  Athenaeum  he  never  heard  it  even 
hinted,  that  married  men  frequented  it  to  the  prejudice 
of  their  domestic  habits,  or  that  bachelors  were  kept 
from  general  society.  Indeed,  Mr.  Walker  maintains, 
that  Clubs  are  a  preparation  and  not  a  substitute  for  do- 
mestic life.  Compared  with  the  previous  system  of  living, 
they  induce  habits  of  economy,  temperance,  refinement, 
regularity,  and  good  order.  Still,  a  Club  only  offers  an 
imitation  of  the  comforts  of  home,  but  only  an  imitation, 
and  one  which  will  never  supersede  the  reality. 

However,  the  question  became  a  subject  for  pleasant 
satire.  Mrs.  Gore,  in  one  of  her  clever  novels,  has  these 
shrewd  remarks : — "  London  Clubs,  after  all,  are  not 
bad  things  for  family  men.  They  act  as  conductors  to 
the  storms  usually  hovering  in  the  air.  The  man  forced 
to  remain  at  home  and  vent  his  crossness  on  his  wife 
and  children,  is  a  much  worse  animal  to  bear  with,  than 
the  man  who  grumbles  his  way  to  Pall  Mall,  and  not 


ECONOMY   OF   CLUBS.  249 

daring  to  swear  at  the  Club-servants,  or  knock  about  the 
club-furniture,  becomes  socialized  into  decency.  Nothing 
like  the  subordination  exercised  in  a  community  of  equals 
for  reducing  a  fiery  temper." 

Mr.  Hood,  in  his  Comic  Annual  for  1838,  took  up 
the  topic  in  his  rich  vein  of  comic  humour,  and  here  is 
the  amusing  result : — 

"  CLUBS, 

"  TURNED  UP  BY  A  FEMALE  HAND. 

"Of  all  the  modern  schemes  of  Man 

That  time  has  brought  to  bear, 
A  plague  upon  the  wicked  plan 

That  parts  the  wedded  pair ! 
My  female  friends  they  all  agree 

They  hardly  know  their  hubs  ; 
And  heart  and  voice  unite  with  me, 

'  We  hate  the  name  of  Clubs  !' 

"  One  selfish  course  the  Wretches  keep  ; 

They  come  at  morning  chimes  ; 
To  snatch  a  few  short  hours  of  sleep — 

Rise — breakfast — read  the  Times — 
Then  take  their  hats,  and  post  away, 

Like  Clerks  or  City  scrubs, 
And  no  one  sees  them  all  the  day, — 

They  live,  eat,  drink,  at  Clubs  ! 

"  With  Rundell,  Dr.  K.,  or  Glasse, 

And  such  Domestic  books, 
They  once  put  up,  but  now,  alas  ! 

It 's  hey  !  for  foreign  cooks. 
1  When  will  you  dine  at  home,  my  dove  ?' 

I  say  to  Mr.  Stubbs.' 
1  When  Cook  can  make  an  omelette,  love — 

An  omeldtte  like  the  Clubs  !' 

"  Time  was,  their  hearts  were  only  placed 
On  snug  domestic  schemes, 


250  CLUB    LIFE    OF    LONDON. 

The  book  for  two — united  taste, — 
And  such  connubial  dreams, — 

Friends,  dropping  in  at  close  of  day, 
To  singles,  doubles,  rubs, — 

A  little  music, — then  the  tray, — 
And  not  a  word  of  Clubs  ! 

"  But  former  comforts  they  condemn  ; 

French  kickshaws  they  discuss, 
And  take  their  wine,  the  wine  takes  them, 

And  then  they  favour  us ; — 
From  some  offence  they  can't  digest, 

As  cross  as  bears  with  cubs, 
Or  sleepy,  dull,  and  queer,  at  best — 

That 's  how  they  come  from  Clubs  ! 

"  It 's  very  fine  to  say,  '  Subscribe 

To  Andrews' — can't  you  read  ?' 
When  Wives,  the  poor  neglected  tribe, 

Complain  how  they  proceed  ! 
They  'd  better  recommend  at  once 

Philosophy  and  tubs, — 
A  woman  need  not  be  a  dunce, 

To  feel  the  wrong  of  Clubs. 

"  A  set  of  savage  Goths  and  Picts 

Would  seek  us  now  and  then, — 
They  're  pretty  pattern-Benedicts 

To  guide  our  single  men  ! 
Indeed,  my  daughters  both  declare 

4  Their  Beaux  shall  not  be  subs 
To  White's,  or  Black's,  or  anywhere, — 

They  've  seen  enough  of  Clubs  !' 

"  They  say,  without  the  marriage  ties, 
They  can  devote  their  hours 

To  catechize,  or  botanize —     . 

Shells,  Sunday  Schools,  and  flow'rs — 

Or  teach  a  Pretty  Poll  new  words, 
Tend  Covent  Garden  shrubs, 


ECONOMY   OF   CLUBS.  251 

Nurse  dogs  and  chirp  to  little  birds — 
As  Wives  do  since  the  Clubs.' 

a  Alas  !  for  those  departed  days 

Of  social  wedded  life, 
When  married  folks  had  married  ways, 

And  liv'd  like  Man  and  Wife  ! 
Oh  !  Wedlock  then  was  pick'd  by  none — 

As  safe  a  lock  as  Chubb's  ! 
But  couples,  that  should  be  as  one, 

Are  now  the  Two  of  Clubs  ! 

"  Of  all  the  modern  schemes  of  Man 

That  time  has  brought  to  bear, 
A  plague  upon  the  wicked  plan, 

That  parts  the  wedded  pair  ! 
My  wedded  friends  they  all  allow 

They  meet  with  slights  and  snubs, 
And  say,  '  They  have  no  husbands  now, — 

They  're  married  to  the  Clubs  !'  " 

The  satire  soon  reached  the  stage.  About  five-and- 
twenty  years  since  there  was  produced  at  the  old  wooden 
Olympic  Theatre,  Mr.  Mark  Lemon's  farce,  The  Ladies' 
Club,  which  proved  one  of  the  most  striking  pieces  of  the 
time.  "  Though  in  1840  Clubs,  in  the  modern  sense  of 
the  word,  had  been  for  some  years  established,  they  were 
not  quite  recognized  as  social  necessities,  and  the  com- 
plaints of  married  ladies  and  of  dowagers  with  marriage- 
able daughters,  to  the  effect  that  these  institutions  caused 
husbands  to  desert  the  domestic  hearth  and  encouraged 
bachelors  to  remain  single,  expressed  something  of  a 
general  feeling.  Public  opinion  was  ostentatiously  on 
the  side  of  the  ladies  and  against  the  Clubs,  and  to  this 
opinion  Mr.  Mark  Lemon  responded  when  he  wrote  his 
most  successful  farce."* 

Here  are  a  few  experiences  of  Club-life.     "  There  are 
*  Times  journal. 


252  CLUB    LIFE    OF    LONDON. 

many  British  lions  in  the  coffee-room  who  have  dined 
off  a  joint  and  beer,  and  have  drunk  a  pint  of  port- wine 
afterwards,  and  whose  bill  is  but  4s.  3d.  One  great 
luxury  in  a  modem  Club  is  that  there  is  no  temptation 
to  ostentatious  expense.  At  an  hotel  there  is  an  incli- 
nation in  some  natures  to  be  '  a  good  customer/  At 
a  Club  the  best  men  are  generally  the  most  frugal — they 
are  afraid  of  being  thought  like  that  little  snob,  Calicot, 
who  is  always  surrounded  by  fine  dishes  and  expensive 
wines  (even  when  alone),  and  is  always  in  loud  talk  with 
the  butler,  and  in  correspondence  with  the  committee 
about  the  cook.  Calicot  is  a  rich  man,  with  a  large 
bottle-nose,  and  people  black-ball  his  friends. 

"  For  a  home,  a  man  must  have  a  large  Club,  where  the 
members  are  recruited  from  a  large  class,  where  the 
funds  are  in  a  good  state,  where  a  large  number  every 
day  breakfast  and  dine,  and  where  a  goodly  number 
think  it  necessary  to  be  on  the  books  and  pay  their  sub- 
scriptions, although  they  do  not  use  the  Club.  Above 
all,  your  home  Club  should  be  a  large  Club,  because,  even 
if  a  Club  be  ever  so  select,  the  highest  birth  and  most 
unexceptionable  fashion  do  not  prevent  a  man  from 
being  a  bore.  Every  Club  must  have  its  bores ;  but  in  a 
large  Club  you  can  get  out  of  their  way"* 

"  It  is  a  vulgar  error  to  regard  a  Club  as  the  rich  man's 
public-house  :  it  bears  no  analogy  to  a  public-house  :  it  is 
as  much  the  private  property  of  its  members  as  any 
ordinary  dwelling-house  is  the  property  of  the  man  who 
built  it. 

"  Our  Clubs  are  thoroughly  characteristic  of  us.  We 
are  a  proud  people, — it  is  of  no  use  denying  it, — and  have 
a  horror  of  indiscriminate  association;  hence  the  exclu- 
siveness  of  our  Clubs. 

#  New  Quarterly  Eeview. 


THE   UNION   CLUB.  253 

"  We  are  an  economical  people,  and  love  to  obtain  the 
greatest  possible  amount  of  luxury  at  the  least  possible 
expense :  hence,  at  our  Clubs  we  dine  at  prime  cost,  and 
drink  the  finest  wines  at  a  price  which  we  should  have 
to  pay  for  slow  poison  at  a  third-rate  inn, 

"We  are  a  domestic  people,  and  hence  our  Clubs  afford 
us  all  the  comforts  of  home,  when  we  are  away  from 
home,  or  when  we  have  none.  Finally,  we  are  a  quarrel- 
some people,  and  the  Clubs  are  eminently  adapted  tor  the 
indulgence  of  that  amiable  taste.  A  book  is  kept  con- 
stantly open  to  receive  the  outpourings  of  our  ill-humour 
against  all  persons  and  things.  The  smokers  quarrel 
with  the  non-smokers :  the  billiard-players  wage  war 
against  those  who  don't  play ;  and,  in  fact,  an  interne- 
cine war  is  constantly  going  on  upon  every  conceivable 
trifle ;  and  when  we  retire  exhausted  from  the  fray,  sofas 
and  chaises  longues  are  everywhere  at  hand,  whereon  to 
repose  in  extenso.  The  London  Clubs  are  certainly  the 
abodes  of  earthly  bliss,  yet  the  ladies  won't  think  so."* 


THE   UNION    CLUB. 

This  noble  Club-house,  at  the  south-west  angle  of 
Trafalgar-square,  was  erected  in  1824,  from  designs  by 
Sir  Robert  Smirke,  It. A.  It  is  much  less  ornate  than 
the  Club-houses  of  later  date;  but  its  apartments  are 
spacious  and  handsome,  and  it  faces  one  of  the  finest 
open  spaces  in  the  metropolis.  As  its  name  implies,  it 
consists  of  politicians,  and  professional  and  mercantile 

*  The  Builder. 


254  CLUB   LIFE  OF   LONDON. 

men,  without  reference  to  party  opinions ;  and,  it  has 
been  added,  is  "  a  resort  of  wealthy  citizens,  who  just 
fetch  Charing  Cross  to  inhale  the  fresh  air  as  it  is  drawn 
from  the  Park  through  the  funnel,  by  Berkeley  House, 
out  of  Spring  Gardens,  into  their  bay-window." 

James  Smith,  one  of  the  authors  of  the  Rejected  Ad- 
dresses, was  a  member  of  the  Union,  which  he  describes 
as  chiefly  composed  of  merchants,  lawyers,  members  of 
Parliament,  and  of  "  gentlemen  at  large."  He  thus 
sketches  a  day's  life  here.  "  At  three  o'clock  I  walk  to 
the  Union  Club,  read  the  journals,  hear  Lord  John 
Russell  deified  or  diablerized,  do  the  same  with  Sir  Ro- 
bert Peel  or  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  and  then  join  a 
knot  of  conversationists  by  the  fire  till  six  o'clock.  We 
then  and  there  discuss  the  Three  per  Cent.  Consols 
(some  of  us  preferring  Dutch  Two-and-a-half  per  Cents.), 
and  speculate  upon  the  probable  rise,  shape,  and  cost  of 
the  New  Exchange.  If  Lady  Harrington  happen  to 
drive  past  our  window  in  her  landau,  we  compare  her 
equipage  to  the  Algerine  Ambassador's ;  and  when  poli- 
tics happen  to  be  discussed,  rally  Whigs,  Radicals,  and 
Conservatives  alternately,  but  never  seriously,  such  sub- 
jects having  a  tendency  to  create  acrimony.  At  six, 
the  room  begins  to  be  deserted ;  wherefore  I  adjourn  to 
the  dining-room,  and  gravely  looking  over  the  bill  of 
fare,  exclaim  to  the  waiter,  '  Haunch  of  mutton  and 
apple-tart !'  These  viands  dispatched,  with  the  accom- 
panying liquids  and  water,  I  mount  upward  to  the  li- 
brary, take  a  book  and  my  seat  in  the  arm-chair,  and 
read  till  nine.  Then  call  for  a  cup  of  coffee  and  a  bis- 
cuit, resuming  my  book  till  eleven;  afterwards  return 
home  to  bed."  The  smoking-room  is  a  very  fine  apart- 
ment. 


THE    GAIIEICK   CLUB.  255 

One  of  the  grumbling  members  of  the  Union  was  Sir 
James  Aylott,  a  two-bottle  man;  one  day,  observing 
Mr.  James  Smith  furnished  with  half-a-pint  of  sherry, 
Sir  James  eyed  his  cruet  with  contempt,  and  exclaimed  : 
"  So,  I  see  you  have  got  one  of  those  d — d  life-preser- 
vers." 

The  Club  has  ever  been  famed  for  its  cuisine,  upon 
the  strength  of  which,  we  are  told  that  next-door  to  the 
Club-house,  in  Cockspur-street,  was  established  the 
Union  Hotel,  which  speedily  became  renowned  for  its 
turtle;  it  was  opened  in  1823,  and  was  one  of  the  best 
appointed  hotels  of  its  day;  and  Lord  Panmure,  a 
gourmet  of  the  highest  order,  is  said  to  have  taken  up 
his  quarters  in  this  hotel,  for  several  successive  seasons, 
for  the  sake  of  the  soup.* 


THE   GARRICK   CLUB. 

Mr.  Thackeray  was  a  hearty  lover  of  London,  and  has 
left  us  many  evidences  of  his  sincerity.  He  greatly 
favoured  Covent  Garden,  of  which  he  has  painted  this 
clever  picture,  sketched  from  "  the  Garden,"  where  are 
annually  paid  for  fruits  and  vegetables  some  three 
millions  sterling : — 

"  The  two  great  national  theatres  on  one  side,  a 
churchyard  full  of  mouldy  but  undying  celebrities  on 
the  other ;  a  fringe  of  houses  studded  in  every  part  with 
anecdote  and  history ;  an  arcade,  often  more  gloomy 
and  deserted  than  a  cathedral  aisle;  a  rich  cluster  of 
*  London  Clubs,  1853,  p.  75. 


250  CLUB   LIFE   OF    LONDON. 

brown  old  taverns — one  of  them  filled  with  the  counter- 
feit presentment  of  many  actors  Jong  since  silent,  who 
scowl  or  smile  once  more  from  the  canvas  upon  the 
grandsons  of  their  dead  admirers;  a  something  in  the 
air  which  breathes  of  old  books,  old  pictures,  old 
painters,  and  old  authors ;  a  place  beyond  all  other 
places  one  would  choose  in  which  to  hear  the  chimes  at 
midnight;  a  crystal  palace — the  representative  of  the 
present — which  peeps  in  timidly  from  a  corner  upon 
many  things  of  the  past;  a  withered  bank,  that  has 
been  sucked  dry  by  a  felonious  clerk  ;  a  squat  building, 
with  a  hundred  columns  and  chapel-looking  fronts, 
which  always  stands  knee-deep  in  baskets,  flowers,  and 
scattered  vegetables;  a  common  centre  into  which 
Nature  showers  her  choicest  gifts,  and  where  the  kindly 
fruits  of  the  earth  often  nearly  choke  the  narrow 
thoroughfares ;  a  population  that  never  seems  to  sleep, 
and  that  does  all  in  its  power  to  prevent  others  sleep- 
ing ;  a  place  where  the  very  latest  suppers  and  the 
earliest  breakfasts  jostle  each  other  on  the  footways — 
such  is  Covent- Garden  Market,  with  some  of  its  sur- 
rounding features/' 

About  a  century  and  a  quarter  ago,  the  parish  of  St. 
Paul  was,  according  to  John  Thomas  Smith,  the  only 
fashionable  part  of  the  town,  and  the  residence  of  a  great 
number  of  persons  of  rank  and  title,  and  artists  of  the 
first  eminence ;  and  also  from  the  concourse  of  wits, 
literary  characters,  and  other  men  of  genius,  who  fre- 
quented the  numerous  coffee-houses,  wine  and  cider 
cellars,  jelly-shops,  etc.,  within  its  boundaries,  the  list 
of  whom  particularly  includes  the  eminent  names  of 
Butler,  Addison,  Sir  Richard  Steele,  Otway,  Dryden, 
Pope,  Warburton,  Cibber,  Fielding,  Churchill,  Boling- 


THE   GARRICK  CLUB.  257 

broke,  and  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson ;  Rich,  Woodward, 
Booth,  Wilkes,  Garrick,  and  Macklin;  Kitty  Clive, 
Peg  Woffington,  Mrs.  Pritchard,  the  Duchess  of  Bolton, 
Lady  Derby,  Lady  Thurlow,  and  the  Duchess  of  St. 
Alban's;  Sir  Peter  Lely,  Sir  Godfrey  Kneller,  and  Sir 
James  Thornhill ;  Vandevelde,  Zincke,  Lambert,  Ho- 
garth, Hayman,  Wilson,  Dance,  Meyer,  etc.  The  name 
of  Samuel  Foote  should  be  added. 

Although  the  high  fashion  of  the  old  place  has  long 
since  ebbed  away,  its  theatrical  celebrity  remains ;  and 
the  locality  is  storied  with  the  dramatic  associations  of 
two  centuries.  The  Sublime  Society  of  Steaks  have 
met  upon  this  hallowed  ground  through  a  century ;  and 
some  thirty  years  ago  there  was  established  in  the  street 
leading  from  the  north-west  angle  of  Covent-Garden 
Market,  a  Club,  bearing  the  name  of  our  greatest  actor. 
Such  was  the  Garrick  Club,  instituted  in  1831,  at  No. 
35,  King-street,  "  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  together 
.the  '  patrons '  of  the  drama  and  its  professors,  and  also 
for  offering  literary  men  a  rendezvous ;  and  the  mana- 
gers of  the  Club  have  kept  those  general  objects  steadily 
in  view.  Nearly  all  the  leading  actors  are  members, 
and  there  are  few  of  the  active  literary  men  of  the  day 
who  are  not  upon  the  list.  The  large  majority  of  the 
association  is  composed  of  the  representatives  of  all  the 
best  classes  of  society.  The  number  of  the  members  is 
limited,  and  the  character  of  the  Club  is  social,  and 
therefore  the  electing  committee  is  compelled  to  exercise 
very  vigilant  care,  for  it  is  clear  that  it  would  be  better 
that  ten  unobjectionable  men  should  be  excluded  than 
that  one  terrible  bore  should  be  admitted.  The  pros- 
perity of  the  Club,  and  the  eagerness  to  obtain  admission 
to  it, .are  the  best  proofs  of  its  healthy  management;  and 

vol.  i.  s 


258  CLUB    LITE    OF    LONDON. 

few  of  the  cases  of  grievance  alleged  against  the  direction 
will  bear  looking  into." 

The  house  in  King-street  was,  previous  to  its  occupa- 
tion by  the  Garrick  men,  a  family  hotel :  it  was  rendered 
tolerably  commodious,  but  in  course  of  time  it  was 
found  insufficient  for  the  increased  number  of  members ; 
and  in  1864,  the  Club  removed  to  a  new  house  built  for 
them  a  little  more  westward  than  the  old  one.  But  of  the 
old  place,  inconvenient  as  it  was,  will  long  be  preserved  the 
interest  of  association.  The  house  has  since  been  taken 
down ;  but  its  memories  are  embalmed  in  a  gracefully 
written  paper,  by  Mr.  Shirley  Brooks,  which  appeared 
in  the  Illustrated  London  News,  immediately  before  the 
removal  of  the  Club  to  their  new  quarters;  and  is  as 
follows : — 

"From  James  Smith  (of  Rejected  Addresses)  to 
Thackeray,  there  is  a  long  series  of  names  of  distin- 
guished men  who  have  made  the  Garrick  their  favourite 
haunt,  and  whose  memories  are  connected  with  those 
rooms.  The  visitor  who  has  had  the  good  fortune  to  be 
taken  through  them,  that  he  might  examine  the  un- 
equalled collection  of  theatrical  portraits,  will  also  retain 
a  pleasant  remembrance  of  the  place.  He  will  recollect 
that  he  went  up  one  side  of  a  double  flight  of  stone 
steps  from  the  street  and  entered  a  rather  gloomy  hall, 
in  which  was  a  fine  bust  of  Shakspeare,  by  Roubiliac, 
and  some  busts  of  celebrated  actors ;  and  he  may  have 
noticed  in  the  hall  a  tablet  recording  the  obligation  of 
the  Club  to  Mr.  Durrant,  who  bequeathed  to  it  the 
pictures  collected  by  the  late  Charles  Mathews.  Con- 
ducted to  the  left,  the  visitor  found  himself  in  the 
strangers'  dining-room,  which  occupied  the  whole  of  the 
ground-floor.      This  apartment,  where,   perhaps,  more 


THE   GARRICK   CLUB.  259 

pleasant  dinners  had  been  given  than  in  any  room  in 
London,  was  closely  hung  with  pictures.  The  newest 
was  Mr.  O'NeiPs  admirable  likeness  of  Mr.  Keeley,  and 
it  hung  over  the  fireplace  in  the  front  room,  near  Sir 
Edwin  Landseer's  portrait  of  Charles  Young.  There 
were  many  very  interesting  pictures  in  this  room,  among 
them  a  Peg  Woffington ;  Lee  (the  author  of  the  Bedlam 
Tragedy,  in  nineteen  acts) ;  Mrs.  Pritchard,  and  Mr. 
Garrick,  an  admirable  illustration  of 

" '  Pritchard's  genteel,  and  Garrick  six  feet  high;' 

a  most  gentlemanly  one  of  Pope  the  actor,  Garrick  again 
as  Macbeth  in  the  court-dress,  two  charming  little  paint- 
ings of  Miss  Poole  when  a  child-performer,  the  late 
Frederick  Yates,  Mrs.  Davison  (of  rare  beauty),  Miss 
Lydia  Kelly,  and  a  rich  store  besides.  The  stranger 
would  probably  be  next  conducted  through  a  long  pas- 
sage until  he  reached  the  smoking-room,  which  was  not 
a  cheerful  apartment  by  daylight,  and  empty ;  but  which 
at  night,  and  full,  was  thought  the  most  cheerful  apart- 
ment in  town.  It  was  adorned  with  gifts  from  artists 
who  are  members  of  the  Club.  Mr.  Stanfield  had  given 
a  splendid  seapiece,  with  a  wash  of  waves  that  set  one 
coveting  an  excursion ;  and  Mr.  David  Roberts  had  given 
a  large  and  noble  painting  of  Baalbec,  one  of  his  finest 
works.  These  great  pictures  occupied  two  sides  of  the 
room,  and  the  other  walls  were  similarly  ornamented. 
Mrs.  Stirling's  bright  face  looked  down  upon  the  smokers, 
and  there  was  a  statuette  of  one  who  loved  the  room — 
the  author  of  Vanity  Fair. 

u  The  visitor  was  then  brought  back  to  the  hall,  and 
taken  upstairs  to  the  drawing-room  floor.  On  the  wall 
as  he  passed  he  would  observe  a  vast  picture  Gf  Mr. 

s  2 


260  CLUB  LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

Charles  Kemble  (long  a  member)  as  Macbeth,  and  a 
Miss  O'Neil  as  Juliet.  He  entered  the  coffee-room,  as 
it  was  called,  which  was  the  front  room,  looking  into 
King-street,  and  behind  which  was  the  morning-room,  for 
newspapers  and  writing,  and  in  which  was  the  small  but 
excellent  library,  rich  in  dramatic  works.  The  coffee- 
room  was  devoted  to  the  members'  dinners ;  and  the  late 
Mr.  Thackeray  dined  for  the  last  time  away  from  home 
at  a  table  in  a  niche  in  which  hung  the  scene  from  The 
Clandestine  MaiTiage.  where  Lord  Ogleby  is  preparing 
to  join  the  ladies.  Over  the  fireplace  was  another  scene 
from  the  same  play ;  and  on  the  mantelpiece  were  Gar- 
rick's  candlesticks,  Kean's  ring,  and  some  other  relics 
of  interest.  The  paintings  in  this  room  were  very  valu- 
able. There  was  Foote,  by  Reynolds;  a  Sheridan; 
John  Kemble;  Charles  Kemble  as  Charles  II.  (under 
which  picture  he  often  sat  in  advanced  life,  when  he  in 
no  degree  resembled  the  audacious,  stalwart  king  in  the 
painting)  ;  Mrs.  Charles  Kemble,  in  male  attire ;  Mrs. 
Fitzwilliam  ;  Charles  Mathews,  pere ;  a  fine,  roystering 
Woodward,  reminding  one  of  the  rattling  times  of  stage 
chivalry  and  '  victorious  burgundy  •'  and  in  the  morning- 
room  was  a  delightful  Kitty  Clive,  another  Garrick,  and, 
near  the  ceiling,  a  row  of  strong  faces  of  by-gone  days — 
Cooke  the  strongest. 

"  On  the  second  floor  were  numerous  small  and  very 
characteristic  portraits ;  and  in  a  press  full  of  large  folios 
was  one  of  the  completest  and  most  valuable  of  collec- 
tions of  theatrical  prints.  In  the  card-room,  behind 
this,  were  also  some  very  quaint  and  curious  likenesses, 
one  of  Mrs.  Liston,  as  Dollalolla.  There  was  a  sweet 
face  of  'the  Prince's'  Perdita,  which  excuses  his  in- 
fatuation  and   aggravates    his   treachery.      When  the 


THE  GARRICK   CLUB.  261 

visitor  had  seen  these  things  and  a  few  busts,  among 
them  one  of  the  late  Justice  Talfourd  (an  old  member), 
he  was  informed  that  he  had  seen  the  collection  and  he 
could  go  away,  unless  he  were  lucky  enough  to  have  an 
invitation  to  dine  in  the  strangers'  room. 

"  The  new  Club-house  is  a  little  more  westward  than 
the  old  one,  but  not  much,  the  Gar  rick  having  resolved 
to  cling  to  the  classic  region  around  Covent- Garden.  It 
is  in  Garrick- street  from  the  west  end  of  King-street  to 
Cranbourn-street.  It  has  a  frontage  of  ninety-six  feet 
to  the  street ;  but  the  rear  was  very  difficult,  from  its 
shape,  to  manage,  and  Mr.  Marrable,  the  architect,  has 
dealt  very  cleverly  with  the  quaint  form  over  which  he 
had  to  lay  out  his  chambers.  The  house  is  Italian,  and 
is  imposing,  from  having  been  judiciously  and  not  over- 
enriched.  In  the  hall  is  a  very  beautiful  Italian  screen. 
The  noble  staircase  is  of  carved  oak  ;  at  the  top,  a  land- 
ing-place, from  which  is  entered  the  morning-room,  the 
card-room,  and  the  library.  All  the  apartments  de- 
manded by  the  habits  of  the  day — some  of  them  were 
not  thought  necessary  in  the  days  of  Garrick — are,  of 
course  provided.  The  kitchens  and  all  their  arrange- 
ments are  sumptuous,  and  the  latest  culinary  improve- 
ments are  introduced.  The  system  of  sunlights  appears 
to  be  very  complete,  and  devices  for  a  perfect  ventila- 
tion have  not  been  forgotten." 

The  pictures  have  been  judiciously  hung  in  the  new 
rooms  :  they  include — Elliston  as  Octavian,  by  Single- 
ton; Macklin  (aged  93),  by  Opie ;  Mrs.  Pritchard,  by 
Hay  man ;  Peg  Woffington,  by  R.  Wilson ;  Nell  Gwynne, 
by  Sir  Peter  Lely  •  Mrs.  Abington  j  Samuel  Foote,  by 
Sir  Joshua  Reynolds ;  Colley  Cibber  as  Lord  Fopping- 
ton;  Mrs.  Bracegirdle;    Kitty  Give;    Mrs.  Robinson, 


262  CLUB  LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

after  Reynolds;  Garrick  as  Macbeth,  and  Mrs.  Prit- 
chard,  Lady  Macbeth,  by  Zoffany ;  Garrick  as  Richard 
III.,  by  Morland,  sen. ;  Young  Roscius,  by  Opie ;  Quin, 
by  Hogarth  ;  Rich  and  his  family,  by  Hogarth  ;  Charles 
Mathews,  four  characters,  by  Harlowe;  Nat  Lee,  painted 
in  Bedlam  ;  Anthony  Leigh  as  the  Spanish  Friar,  by 
Kneller :  John  Liston,  by  Clint;  Munden,  by  Opie; 
John  Johnston,  by  Shee ;  Lacy  in  three  characters,  by 
Wright;  Scene  from  Charles  II.,  by  Clint;  Mrs.  Sid- 
dons  as  Lady  Macbeth,  by  Harlowe;  J.  P.  Kemble  as 
Cato,  by  Lawrence;  Macready  as  Henry  IV.,  by  Jack- 
son ;  Edwin,  by  Gainsborou2.l1 ;  the  twelve  of  the  School 
of  Garrick ;  Kean,  Young,  Elliston,  and  Mrs.  Inchbald, 
by  Harlowe;  Garrick  as  Richard  III.,  by  Louther- 
bourg;  Rich  as  Harlequin;  Moody  and  Parsons  in 
The  Committee,  by  Vandergucht ;  King  as  Touchstone, 
by  Zoffany ;  Thomas  Dogget ;  Henderson,  by  Gains- 
borough ;  Elder  Colman,  by  Reynolds ;  Mrs.  Oldlield, 
by  Kneller ;  Mrs.  Billington ;  Nancy  Dawson  ;  Screen 
Scene  from  The  School  for  Scandal,  as  originally  cast ; 
Scene  from  Venice  Preserved  (Garrick  and  Mrs.  Gibber), 
by  Zoffany ;  Scene  from  Macbeth  (Henderson)  ;  Scene 
from  Love,  Laiv,  and  Physic  (Mathews,  Liston,  Blan- 
chard,  and  Emery) ,  by  Clint ;  Scene  from  The  Clandes- 
tine Marriage  (King  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Baddeley),  by 
Zoffany ;  Weston  as  Billy  Button,  by  Zoffany. 

The  following  have  been  presented  to  the  Club: — Busts 
of  Mrs.  Siddons  and  J.  P.  Kemble,  by  Mrs.  Siddons; 
of  Garrick,  Captain  Marryat,  Dr.  Kitchiner,  and  Mali- 
bran;  Garrick,  by  Roubiliac;  Griffin  and  Johnson  in 
The  Alchemist,  by  Von  Bleeck  ;  Miniatures  of  Mrs.  Ro- 
binson and  Peg  Woffington  ;  Sketch  of  Kean  by  Lam- 
bert ;  Garrick  Mulberry-tree  Snuff-box ;  Joseph  Harris 


THE   GAEEICK   CLUB.  263 

as  Cardinal  Wolsey,  from  the  Strawberry  Hill  Collec- 
tion ;  Proof  Print  of  the  Trial  of  Queen  Katherine,  by 
Harlowe. 

The  Garrick  men  will,  for  the  sake  of  justice,  excuse 
the  mention  of  a  short-coming  :  at  the  first  dinner  of  the 
Club,  from  the  list  of  toasts  was  omitted  "  Shakspeare," 
who,  it  must  be  allowed,  contributed  to  Garrick' s  fame. 
David  did  not  so  forget  the  Bard,  as  is  attested  in  his 
statue  by  Koubiliac,  which,  after  adorning  the  Garrick 
grounds  at  Hampton,  was  bequeathed  by  the  grateful 
actor  to  the  British  Museum. 

The  Club  were  entertained  at  a  sumptuous  dinner  by 
their  brother  member,  Lord  Mayor  Moon,  in  the  Egyp- 
tian Hall  of  the  Mansion  House,  in  1855. 

The  Gin-punch  made  with  iced  soda-water,  is  a  nota- 
ble potation  at  the  Garrick  ;  and  the  rightful  patentee 
of  the  invention  was  Mr.  Stephen  Price,  an  American 
gentleman,  well  known  on  the  turf,  and  as  the  lessee  of 
Drury-lane  Theatre.    His  title  has  been  much  disputed — 

"  Grammatici  certant  et  adhuc  sub  judice  lis  est;" 

and  many,  misled  by  Mr.  Theodore  Hook's  frequent  and 
liberal  application  of  the  discovery,  were  in  the  habit  of 
ascribing  it  to  him.  But,  Mr.  Thomas  Hill,  the  cele- 
brated "  trecentenarian "  of  a  popular  song,  who  was 
present  at  Mr.  Hook's  first  introduction  to  the  beverage, 
has  set  the  matter  at  rest  by  a  brief  narration  of  the 
circumstances.  One  hot  afternoon,  in  July,  1835,  the 
inimitable  author  of  Sayings  and  Doings  (what  a  book 
might  be  made  of  his  own  !)  strolled  into  the  Garrick 
in  that  equivocal  state  of  thirstiness  which  it  requires 
something  more  than  common  to  quench.  On  describing 
the  sensation,  he  was  recommended  to  make  a  trial  of 


264  CLUB    LIFE    OF    LONDON. 

the  punch,  and  a  jug  was  compounded  immediately 
under  the  personal  inspection  of  Mr.  Price.  A  second 
followed — a  third,  with  the  accompaniment  of  some 
chops — a  fourth — a  fifth — a  sixth — at  the  expiration  01 
which  Mr.  Hook  went  away  to  keep  a  dinner  engage- 
ment at  Lord  Canterbury's.  He  always  ate  little,  and 
on  this  occasion  he  ate  less,  and  Mr.  Horace  Twiss 
inquired  in  a  fitting  tone  of  anxiety  if  he  was  ill.  "  Not 
exactly,"  was  the  reply ;  "  but  my  stomach  won't  bear 
trifling  with,  and  I  was  tempted  to  take  a  biscuit  and  a 
glass  of  sherry  about  three." 

The  receipt  for  the  gin  punch  is  as  follows  : — pour  half 
a  pint  of  gin  on  the  outer  peel  of  a  lemon,  then  a  little 
lemon-juice,  a  glass  of  maraschino,  about  a  pint  and  a 
quarter  of  water,  and  two  bottles  of  iced  soda-water; 
and  the  result  will  be  three  pints  of  the  punch  in  ques- 
tion. 

Another  choice  spirit  of  the  Garrick  was  the  aforesaid 
Hill,  "  Tom  Hill,"  as  he  was  called  by  all  who  loved  and 
knew  him.  He  "  happened  to  know  everything  that 
was  going  forward  in  all  circles — mercantile,  political, 
fashionable,- literary,  or  theatrical;  in  addition  to  all 
matters  connected  with  military  and  naval  affairs,  agri- 
culture, finance,  art,  and  science — everything  came  alike 
to  him."  He  was  born  in  1760,  and  was  many  years  a 
dry salter  at  Queenhithe,  but  about  1810  he  lost  a  large 
sum  of  money  by  a  speculation  in  indigo ;  after  which  he 
retired  upon  the  remains  of  his  property,  to  chambers  in 
the  Adelphi.  While  at  Queenhithe,  he  found  leisure  to 
make  a  fine  collection  of  old  books,  chiefly  old  poetry, 
which  were  valued  at  six  thousand  pounds.  He  greatly 
assisted  two  friendless  poets,  Bloomfield  and  Kirke 
White ;  he  also  established  The  Monthly  Mirror,  which 


THE   GAEEICK   CLUB.  265 

brought  him  much  into  connection  with  dramatic  poets, 
actors,  and  managers,  when  he  collected  theatrical 
curiosities  and  relics.  Hill  was  the  Hull  of  Hook's 
clever  novel,  Gilbert  Gurney,  and  the  reputed  original  of 
Paul  Pry,  though  the  latter  is  doubtful.  The  standard 
joke  about  him  was  his  age.  He  died  in  1841,  in  his 
eighty-first  year,  though  Hook  and  all  his  friends  always 
affected  to  consider  him  as  quite  a  Methuselah.  James 
Smith  once  said  that  it  was  impossible  to  discover  his 
age,  for  the  parish-register  had  been  burnt  in  the  fire 
of  London  ;  but  Hook  capped  this  : — ( Pooh,  pooh  ! — 
(Tom's  habitual  exclamation) — he's  one  of  the  Little 
Hills  that  are  spoken  of  as  skipping  in  the  Psalms/  As 
a  mere  octogenarian  he  was  wonderful  enough.  No 
human  being  would,  from  his  appearance,  gait,  or  habits, 
have  guessed  him  to  be  sixty.  Till  within  three  months 
of  his  death,  Hill  rose  at  five  usually,  and  brought  the 
materials  of  his  breakfast  home  with  him  to  the  Adelphi 
from  a  walk  to  Billingsgate  ;  and  at  dinner  he  would  eat 
and  drink  like  an  adjutant  of  five-and-twenty.  One 
secret  was,  that  a  ' banyan-day'  uniformly  followed  a 
festivity.  He  then  nursed  himself  most  carefully  on  tea 
and  dry  toast,  tasted  neither  meat  nor  wine,  and  went  to 
bed  by  eight  o'clock.  But  perhaps  the  grand  secret 
was,  the  easy,  imperturbable  serenity  of  his  temper.  He 
had  been  kind  and  generous  in  the  day  of  his  wealth ; 
and  though  his  evening  was  comparatively  poor,  his 
cheerful  heart  kept  its  even  beat. 

Hill  was  a  patient  collector  throughout  his  long  life. 
His  old  English  poetry,  which  Southey  considered  the 
rarest  assemblage  in  existence,  was  dispersed  in  1810 ; 
and,  after  Hill's  death,  his  literary  rarities  and  memorials 
occupied  Evans,  of  Pall  Mall,  a  clear  week  to  sell  by 


266  CLUB  LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

auction :  the  autograph  letters  were  very  interesting, 
and  among  the  memorials  were  Garrick's  Shakspeare 
Cup  and  a  vase  carved  from  the  Bard's  mulberry-tree ; 
and  a  block  of  wood  from  Pope's  willow,  at  Twicken- 
ham. 

Albert  Smith  was  also  of  the  Garrick,  and  usually 
dined  here  before  commencing  his  evening  entertain- 
ment at  the  Egyptian  Hall,  in  Piccadilly. 

Smith  was  very  clubbable,  and  with  benevolent  aims : 
he  was  a  leader  of  the  Fielding  Club,  in  Maiden-lane, 
Covent  Garden,  which  gave  several  amateur  theatrical 
representations,  towards  the  establishment  of  "a  Fund  for 
the  immediate  relief  of  emergencies  in  the  Literary  or 
Theatrical  world ;"  having  already  devoted  a  conside- 
rable sum  to  charitable  purposes.  This  plan  of  reliev- 
ing the  woes  of  others  through  our  own  pleasures  is  a 
touch  of  nature  which  yields  twofold  gratification. 


THE   REFORM   CLUB. 

This  political  Club  was  established  by  Liberal  Mem- 
bers of  the  two  Houses  of  Parliament,  to  aid  the  carrying 
of  the  Reform  Bill,  1830-1832.  It  was  temporarily 
located  in  Great  George-street,  and  Gwydyr  House, 
Whitehall,  until  towards  the  close  of  1837,  when  designs 
for  a  new  Club-house  were  submitted  by  the  architects, 
Blore,  Basevi,  Cockerell,  Sydney  Smirke,  and  Barry. 
The  design  of  the  latter  was  preferred,  and  the  site  se- 
lected in  Pall  Mall,  extending  from  the  spot  formerly 
occupied  by  the  temporary  National  Gallery  (late  the 


THE   REFORM   CLUB.  267 

residence  of  Sir  Walter  Stirling),  on  one  side  of  the 
temporary  Reform  Club-house,  over  the  vacant  plot  of 
ground  on  the  other  side.  The  instructions  were  to 
produce  a  Club-house  which  should  surpass  all  others 
in  size  and  magnificence ;  one  which  should  combine  all 
the  attractions  of  other  Clubs,  such  as  baths,  billiard- 
rooms,  smoking-rooms,  with  the  ordinary  accommo- 
dations ;  besides  the  additional  novelty  of  private  cham- 
bers, or  dormitories.  The  frontage  towards  Pall  Mall 
is  about  135  feet,  or  nearly  equal  to  the  frontage  of  the 
Athenaeum  (76  feet)  and  the  Travellers'  (74  feet).  The 
style  of  the  Reform  is  pure  Italian,  the  architect  having 
taken  some  points  from  the  celebrated  Farnese  Palace  at 
Eome,  designed  by  Michael  Angelo  Buonarroti,  in  1545, 
and  built  by  Antonio  Sangallo.  However,  the  resem- 
blance between  the  two  edifices  has  been  greatly  over- 
stated, it  consisting  only  in  both  of  them  being  astylar, 
with  columnar-decorated  fenestration.  The  exterior  is 
greatly  admired;  though  it  is  objected,  and  with  reason, 
that  the  windows  are  too  small.  The  Club-house  con- 
tains six  floors  and  134  apartments  :  the  basement  and 
mezzanine  below  the  street  pavement,  and  the  chambers 
in  the  roof  are  not  seen. 

The  points  most  admired  are  extreme  simplicity  and 
unity  of  design,  combined  with  very  unusual  richness. 
The  breadth  of  the  piers  between  the  windows  contri- 
butes not  a  little  to  that  repose  which  is  so  essential  to 
simplicity,  and  hardly  less  so  to  stateliness.  The  string- 
courses are  particularly  beautiful,  while  the  cornicione 
(68  feet  from  the  pavement)  gives  extraordinary  majesty 
and  grandeur  to  the  whole.  The  roof  is  covered  with 
Italian  tiles ;  the  edifice  is  faced  throughout  with  Port- 
land stone,  and  is  a  very  fine  specimen  of  masonry.     In 


268  CLUB  LIFE  OF  LONDON. 

building  it  a  strong  scaffolding  was  constructed,  and  on 
the  top  was  laid  a  railway,  upon  which  was  worked  a 
traversing  crane,  movable  along  the  building  either  lon- 
gitudinally or  transversely ;  by  which  means  the  stones 
were  raised  from  the  ground,  and  placed  on  the  wall 
with  very  little  labour  to  the  mason,  who  had  only  to 
adjust  the  bed  and  lay  the  block.* 

In  the  centre  of  the  interior  is  a  grand  hall,  56  by  50, 
(the  entire  height  of  the  building,)  resembling  an  Italian 
cortile,  surrounded  by  colonnades,  below  Ionic,  and  above 
Corinthian;  the  latter  is  a  picture-gallery,  where,  in- 
serted in  the  scagliola  walls,  are  whole-length  portraits 
of  eminent  political  Reformers ;  while  the  upper  colon- 
nade has  rich  floral  mouldings,  and  frescoes  of  Music, 
Poetry,  Painting,  and  sculpture,  by  Parris.  The  floor 
of  the  hall  is  tessellated ;  and  the  entire  roof  is  strong- 
diapered  flint-glass,  executed  by  Pellatt,  at  the  cost  of 
600/.  The  staircase,  like  that  of  an  Italian  palace,  leads 
to  the  upper  gallery  of  the  hall,  opening  into  the  prin- 
cipal drawing-room,  which  is  over  the  coffee-room  in  the 
garden-front,  both  being  the  entire  length  of  the  build- 
ing; adjoining  are  a  library,  card-room,  etc.,  over  the 
library  and  dining-rooms.  Above  are  a  billiard-room 
and  lodging-rooms  for  members  of  the  Club;  there 
being  a  separate  entrance  to  the  latter  by  a  lodge  ad- 
joining the  Travellers'  Club-house. 

The  basement  comprises  two-storied  wine-cellars  be- 
neath the  hall ;  besides  the  kitchen  department,  planned 
by  Alexis  Soyer,  originally  chef -de-cuisine  of  the  Club  : 
it  contains  novel  employments  of  steam  and  gas,  and 
mechanical  applications  of  practical  ingenuity ;  the  in- 
spection of  which  was  long  one  of  the  privileged  sights 
*  Civil  Engineer  and  Architects'  Journal,  1841. 


THE   REFORM   CLUB.  2G9 

of  London.  The  cuisine,  under  M.  Soyer,  enjoyed  Eu- 
ropean fame.  Soyer  first  came  to  England  on  a  visit  to 
his  brother,  who  was  then  cook  to  the  Duke  of  Cam- 
bridge ;  and  at  Cambridge  House,  Alexis  cooked  his  first 
dinner  in  England,  for  the  then  Prince  George.  Soyer 
afterwards  entered  the  service  of  various  noblemen, 
amongst  others  of  Lord  Ailsa,  Lord  Panmure,  etc.  He 
then  entered  into  the  service  of  the  Reform  Club,  and 
the  breakfast  given  by  that  Club  on  the  occasion  of  the 
Queen's  Coronation  obtained  him  high  commendation. 
His  ingenuity  gave  a  sort  of  celebrity  to  the  great  poli- 
tical banquets  given  at  the  Reform.  In  his  O'  Conn  ell 
dinner,  the  souffles  a  la  Clontarf,  were  considered  by 
gastronomes  to  be  a  rich  bit  of  satire.  The  banquet  to 
Ibrahim  Pacha,  July  3, 1846,  was  another  of  Soyer's  great 
successes,  when  Merlans  a  FEgyptienne,  la  Creme 
d'Egypte  and  h  Flbrahim  Pacha,  mingled  with  Le  Ga- 
teau Britannique  a  l'Amiral  (Napier).  Another  famous 
banquet  was  that  given  to  Sir  C.  Napier,  March  3, 1854, 
as  Commander  of  the  Baltic  Fleet ;  and  the  banquet 
given  July  20,  1850,  to  Viscount  Palmerston,  who  was 
a  popular  leader  of  the  Reform,  was,  gastronomically  as 
well  as  politically,  a  brilliant  triumph.  It  was  upon  this 
memorable  occasion  that  Mr.  Bernal  Osborne  charac- 
terized the  Palmerston  policy  in  this  quotation  : — 

"  Warmed  by  the  instincts  of  a  knightly  heart, 

That  roused  at  once  if  insult  touched  the  realm, 

He  spurned  each  State-craft,  each  deceiving  art, 
And  met  his  foes  no  vizor  to  his  helm. 

This  proved  his  worth,  hereafter  be  our  boast — 
Who  hated  Britons,  hated  him  the  most." 

Lord  Palmerston  was  too  true  an  Englishman  to  be 
insensible  to  "  the  pleasures  of  the  table,"  as  attested  by 


270  CLUB    LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

the  hospitalities  of  Cambridge  House,  during  his  ad- 
ministration. One  of  his  Lordship's  political  opponents, 
writing  in  1836,  says :  "  Lord  Palmerston  is  redeemed 
from  the  last  extremity  of  political  degradation  by  his 
cook."  A  distinguished  member  of  the  diplomatic  body 
was  once  overheard  remarking  to  an  Austrian  noble- 
man, upon  the  Minister's  shortcomings  in  some  respects, 
adding,  "  mais  on  dine  fort  bien  chez  lui." 

It  is  always  interesting  to  read  a  foreigner's  opinion 
of  English  society.  The  following  observations,  by  the 
Viscountess  de  Malleville,  appeared  originally  in  the 
Courrier  de  V Europe,  and  preceded  an  account  of  the 
Reform.     Commencing  with  Clubs,  the  writer  remarks  : 

"  It  cannot  be  denied  that  these  assemblages,  wealthy 
and  widely  extended  in  their  ramifications,  selfish  in 
principle,  but  perfectly  adapted  to  the  habits  of  the  na- 
tion, offer  valuable  advantages  to  those  who  have  the 
good  fortune  to  be  enrolled  in  them.  .  .  .  The  social 
state  and  manners  of  the  country  gave  the  first  idea  of 
them.  The  spirit  of  association  which  is  so  inherent  in 
the  British  character,  did  the  rest.  It  is  only  within  the 
precincts  of  these  splendid  edifices,  where  all  the  require- 
ments of  opulent  life,  all  the  comforts  and  luxuries  of 
princely  habitations  are  combined,  that  we  can  adequately 
appreciate  the  advantages  and  the  complicated  results 
produced  by  such  a  system  of  association.  For  an  an- 
nual subscription,  comparatively  of  small  amount,  every 
member  of  a  Club  is  admitted  into  a  circle,  which  is  en- 
livened and  renewed  from  time  to  time  by  the  accession 
of  strangers  of  distinction.  A  well- selected  and  exten- 
sive library,  newspapers  and  pamphlets  from  all  parts  of 
the  world,  assist  him  to  pass  the  hours  of  leisure  and 
digestion.     According  as  his  tastes  incline,  a  man  may 


THE   REFORM   CLUB.  271 

amuse  himself  in  the  saloons  devoted  to  play,  to  read- 
ing, or  to  conversation.  In  a  word,  the  happy  man,  who 
only  goes  to  get  his  dinner,  may  drink  the  best  wines 
out  of  the  finest  cut-glass,  and  may  eat  the  daintiest  and 
best-cooked  viands  off  the  most  costly  plate,  at  such 
moderate  prices  as  no  Parisian  restaurateur  could  afford. 
The  advantages  of  a  Club  do  not  end  here :  it  becomes 
for  each  of  its  members  a  second  domestic  hearth,  where 
the  cares  of  business  and  household  annoyances  cannot 
assail  him.  As  a  retreat  especially  sacred  against  the 
visitations  of  idle  acquaintances  and  tiresome  creditors 
— a  sanctuary  in  which  each  member  feels  himself  in 
the  society  of  those  who  act  and  sympathize  with  him — 
the  Club  will  ever  remain  a  resort,  tranquil,  elegant, 
and  exclusive ;  interdicted  to  the  humble  and  to  the  in- 
significant. " 

The  writer  then  proceeds  to  illustrate  the  sumptuous 
character  of  our  new  Club-houses  by  reference  to  the 
Reform.  "  Unlike  in  most  English  buildings,  the  stair- 
case is  wide  and  commodious,  and  calls  to  mind  that  of 
the  Louvre.  The  quadrangular  apartment  which  termi- 
nates it,  is  surrounded  by  spacious  galleries ;  the  rich 
mosaic  pavement,  in  which  the  brilliancy  of  the  colour 
is  only  surpassed  by  the  variety  of  the  design — the  cut- 
glass  ceiling,  supported  by  four  rows  of  marble  pillars — 
all  these  things  call  to  remembrance  the  most  magnifi- 
cent apartments  of  Versailles  in  the  days  of  the  great 
king  and  his  splendours.  This  is  the  vestibule,  which  is 
the  grand  feature  of  the  mansion."  The  kitchen  is  then 
described — "spacious  as  a  ball-room,  kept  in  the  finest 
order,  and  white  as  a  young  bride.  All-powerful  steam, 
the  noise  of  which  salutes  your  ear  as  you  enter,  here 
performs  a  variety  of  offices  :  it  diffuses  a  uniform  heat 


272  CLUB  LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

to  large  rows  of  dishes,  warms  the  metal  plates  upon 
which  are  disposed  the  dishes  that  have  been  called  for, 
and  that  are  in  waiting  to  be  sent  above :  it  turns  the 
spits,  draws  the  water,  carries  up  the  coal,  and  moves  the 
plate  like  an  intelligent  and  indefatigable  servant.  Stay 
awhile  before  this  octagonal  apparatus,  which  occupies 
the  centre  of  the  place.  Around  you  the  water  boils 
and  the  stew-pans  bubble,  and  a  little  further  on  is  a 
moveable  furnace,  before  which  pieces  of  meat  are  con- 
verted into  savoury  rotis ;  here  are  sauces  and  gravies, 
stews,  broths,  soups,  etc.  In  the  distance  are  Dutch 
ovens,  marble  mortars,  lighted  stoves,  iced  plates  of 
metal  for  fish ;  and  various  compartments  for  vegetables, 
fruits,  roots,  and  spices.  After  this  inadequate,  though 
prodigious  nomenclature,  the  reader  may  perhaps  picture 
to  himself  a  state  of  general  confusion,  a  disordered  as- 
semblage, resembling  that  of  a  heap  of  oyster-shells. 
If  so,  he  is  mistaken ;  for,  in  fact,  you  see  very  little,  or 
scarcely  anything  of  all  the  objects  above  described.  The 
order  of  their  arrangement  is  so  perfect,  their  distribu- 
tion as  a  whole,  and  in  their  relative  bearings  to  one 
another,  all  are  so  intelligently  considered,  that  you  re- 
quire the  aid  of  a  guide  to  direct  you  in  exploring  them, 
and  a  good  deal  of  time  to  classify  in  your  mind  all 
your  discoveries. 

' l  Let  all  strangers  who  come  to  London  for  business, 
or  pleasure,  or  curiosity,  or  for  whatever  cause,  not  fail 
to  visit  the  Reform  Club.  In  an  age  of  utilitarianism, 
and  of  the  search  for  the  comfortable,  like  ours,  there  is 
more  to  be  learned  here  than  in  the  ruins  of  the  Coli- 
seum, of  the  Parthenon,  or  of  Memphis." 


273 


THE  CARLTON  CLUB. 

The  Carlton  is  purely  a  political  Club,  and  was  founded 
by  the  great  Duke  of  Wellington,  and  a  few  of  his  most 
intimate  political  friends.  It  held  its  first  meeting  in 
Charles-street,  St.  James's,  in  the  year  1831.  In  the 
following  year  it  removed  to  larger  premises,  Lord  Ken- 
sington's, in  Carlton  Gardens.  In  1836,  an  entirely 
new  house  was  built  for  the  Club,  in  Pali-Mall,  by  Sir 
Robert  Smirke,  It. A. :  it  was  of  small  extent,  and  plain 
and  inexpensive.  As  the  Club  grew  in  numbers  and 
importance,  the  building  became  inadequate  to  its  wants. 
In  1846,  a  very  large  addition  was  made  to  it  by  Mr. 
Sydney  Smirke ;  and  in  1854,  the  whole  of  the  original 
edifice  was  taken  down,  and  rebuilt  by  Mr.  Smirke,  upon 
a  sumptuous  scale ;  and  it  will  be  the  largest,  though 
not  the  most  costly  Club-house,  in  the  metropolis.  It 
is  a  copy  of  Sansovino's  Library  of  St.  Mark,  at  Venice  : 
the  entablature  of  the  Ionic,  or  upper  order,  is  consi- 
derably more  ponderous  than  that  of  the  Doric  below, 
which  is  an  unorthodox  defect.  The  facade  is  highly 
enriched,  and  exhibits  a  novelty  in  the  shafts  of  all  the 
columns  being  of  red  Peterhead  granite,  highly  polished, 
which,  in  contrast  with  the  dead  stone,  is  objectionable : 
u  cloth  of  frieze  and  cloth  of  gold "  do  not  wear  well 
together.  In  the  garden  front  the  pilasters,  which  take 
the  place  of  columns  in  the  entrance  front  and  flank, 
are  of  the  same  material  as  the  latter,  namely,  Peter- 
head granite,  polished.  Many  predictions  were  at  first 
ventured  upon  as  to  the  perishable  nature  of  the  lustre 

VOL.  I.  T 


274  CLUB  LIFE  OF  LONDON. 

of  the  polished  granite  shafts ;  but  these  predictions  have 
been  falsified  by  time;  nine  years'  exposure  having 
produced  no  effect  whatever  on  the  polished  surface. 
Probably  the  polish  itself  is  the  protection  of  the  gra- 
nite, by  preventing  moisture  from  hanging  on  the  sur- 
face. 

The  Carlton  contains  Conservatives  of  every  hue,  from 
the  good  old-fashioned  Tory  to  the  liberal  progressist  of 
the  latest  movements, — men  of  high  position  in  fortune 
and  politics. 

Some  thirty  years  ago,  a  Quarterly  reviewer  wrote : 
"  The  improvement  and  multiplication  of  Clubs  is  the 
grand  feature  of  metropolitan  progress.  There  are  be- 
tween twenty  and  thirty  of  these  admirable  establish- 
ments, at  which  a  man  of  moderate  habits  can  dine 
more  comfortably  for  three  or  four  shillings  (including 
half  a  pint  of  wine),  than  he  could  have  dined  for  four 
or  five  times  that  amount  at  the  coffee-houses  and  hotels, 
which  were  the  habitual  resort  of  the  bachelor  class  in 
the  corresponding  rank  of  life  during  the  first  quarter 
of  the  century.  At  some  of  the  Clubs — the  Travellers', 
the  Coventry,  and  the  Carlton,  for  example — the  most 
finished  luxury  may  be  enjoyed  at  a  very  moderate  cost. 
The  best  judges  are  agreed  that  it  is  utterly  impossible 
to  dine  better  than  at  the  Carlton,  when  the  cook  has 
fair  notice,  and  is  not  hurried,  or  confused  by  a  multi- 
tude of  orders.  But  great  allowances  must  be  made 
when  a  simultaneous  rush  occurs  from  both  Houses  of 
Parliament ;  and  the  caprices  of  individual  members  of 
such  institutions  are  sometimes  extremely  trying  to  the 
temper  and  reputation  of  a  chef." 


275 


THE   CONSERVATIVE  CLUB. 

This  handsome  Club-house,  which  occupies  a  portion 
of  the  site  of  the  old  Thatched  House  Tavern,  74,  St. 
James's- street,  was  designed  by  Sydney  Smirke  and 
George  Basevi,  1845.  The  upper  portion  is  Corinthian, 
with  columns  and  pilasters,  and  a  frieze  sculptured  with 
the  imperial  crown  and  oak-wreaths ;  the  lower  order  is 
Roman  -  Doric ;  and  the  wings  are  slightly  advanced, 
with  an  enriched  entrance- porch  north,  and  a  bay- 
window  south.  The  interior  was  superbly  decorated  in 
colour  by  Sang :  the  coved  hall,  with  a  gallery  round 
it,  and  the  domed  vestibule  above  it,  is  a  fine  specimen 
of  German  encaustic  embellishment,  in  the  arches,  sof- 
fites,  spandrels,  and  ceilings ;  and  the  hall -floor  is  tes- 
sellated, around  a  noble  star  of  marqueterie.  The 
evening  room,  on  the  first  floor,  has  an  enriched 
coved  ceiling,  and  a  beautiful  frieze  of  the  rose,  sham- 
rock, and  thistle,  supported  by  scagliola  Corinthian  co- 
lumns :  the  morning  room,  beneath,  is  of  the  same  di- 
mensions, with  Ionic  pillars.  The  library,  in  the  upper 
story  north,  has  columns  and  pilasters  with  bronzed 
capitals.  Beneath  is  the  coffee-room.  The  kitchen  is 
far  more  spacious  than  that  of  the  Reform  Club.  In 
the  right  wing  is  a  large  bay-window,  which  was  intro- 
duced as  an  essential  to  the  morning  room,  affording 
the  lounger  a  view  of  Pall  Mall  and  St.  James's- street, 
and  the  Palace  gateway;  this  introduction  reminding 
us,  by  the  way,  of  Theodore  Hook's  oddly  comparing 
the  bay-window  of  a  coffee-house  nearly  on  the  same 

t  2 


276  CLUB    LIFE   OF    LONDON. 

spot,  to  an  obese  old  gentleman  in  a  white  waistcoat. 
Hook  lived  for  some  time  in  Cleveland-row  :  he  used  to 
describe  the  real  London  as  the  space  between  Pall  Mall 
on  the  south,  Piccadilly  north,  St.  James's  west,  and 
the  Opera-house  east. 

This  is  the  second  Club  of  the  Conservative  party, 
and  many  of  its  chiefs  are  honorary  members,  but  rarely 
enter  it :  Sir  Robert  Peel  is  said  never  to  have  entered 
this  Club-house  except  to  view  the  interior.  Other  leaders 
have,  however,  availed  themselves  of  the  Club  influences 
to  recruit  their  ranks  from  its  working  strength.  This 
has  been  political  ground  for  a  century  and  a  half;  for 
here,  at  the  Thatched  House  Tavern,  Swift  met  his 
political  Clubs,  and  dined  with  Tory  magnates ;  but 
with  fewer  appliances  than  in  the  present  day  ;  in  Swift's 
time  "  the  wine  being  always  brought  by  him  that  is 
president."* 

#  The  Palace  clock  has  connected  with  it  an  odd  anecdote, 
which  we  received  from  Mr.  Vulliamy,  of  Pall  Mall,  who,  with 
his  family,  as  predecessors,  had  been  the  royal  clockmakers  since 
1743.  When  the  Palace  G-ate-house  was  repaired,  in  1831,  the 
clock  was  removed,  and  not  put  up  again.  The  inhabitants  of 
the  neighbourhood,  missing  the  clock,  memorialized  William  I V. 
for  the  replacement  of  the  time-keeper,  when  the  King  inquired 
why  it  was  not  restored ;  the  reply  was  that  the  roof  was  re- 
ported unsafe  to  carry  the  weight,  which  His  Majesty  having 
ascertained,  he  shrewdly  demanded  how,  if  the  roof  were  not 
strong  enough  to  carry  the  clock,  it  was  safe  for  the  number  of 
persons  occasionally  seen  upon  it  to  witness  processions,  and 
the  company  on  drawing-room  days  ?  There  was  no  question- 
ing the  calculation ;  the  clock  was  forthwith  replaced,  and  a 
minute-hand  was  added,  with  new  dials.  (Curiosities  of  London, 
p.  571.) 


277 


THE  OXFORD  AND  CAMBRIDGE  CLUB. 

The  Oxford  and  Cambridge  Club-house,  71,  Pall  Mall, 
for  members  of  the  two  Universities,  was  designed  by 
Sir  Robert  Smirke,  R.A..,  and  his  brother,  Mr.  Sydney 
Smirke,  1835-8.  The  Pall  Mall  facade  is  80  feet  in 
width  by  75  in  height,  and  the  rear  lies  over-against  the 
court  of  Marlborough  House.  The  ornamental  detail  is 
very  rich  :  as  the  entrance- portico,  with  Corinthian  co- 
lumns ;  the  balcony,  with  its  panels  of  metal  foliage ;  and 
the  ground-story  frieze,  and  arms  of  Oxford  and  Cam- 
bridge Universities  over  the  portico  columns.  The  upper 
part  of  the  building  has  a  delicate  Corinthian  entablature 
and  balustrade;  and  above  the  principal  windows  are 
bas-reliefs  in  panels,  executed  in  cement  by  Nicholl, 
from  designs  by  Sir  R.  Smirke,  as  follows : — Centre 
panel :  Minerva  and  Apollo  presiding  on  Mount  Parnas- 
sus; and  the  River  Helicon,  surrounded  by  the  Muses. 
Extreme  panels :  Homer  singing  to  a  warrior,  a  female, 
and  a  youth ;  Virgil  singing  his  Georgics  to  a  group  of 
peasants.  Other  four  panels :  Milton  reciting  to  his 
daughter ;  Shakspeare  attended  by  Tragedy  and  Comedy; 
Newton  explaining  his  system ;  Bacon,  his  philosophy. 
Beneath  the  ground-floor  is  a  basement  of  offices,  and  an 
entresol  or  mezzanine  of  chambers.  The  principal  apart- 
ments are  tastefully  decorated ;  the  drawing-room  is 
panelled  with  papier  mdche)  and  the  libraries  are  filled 
with  book-cases  of  beautifully-marked  Russian  birch- 
wood.  From  the  back  library  is  a  view  of  Marlborough 
House  and  its  gardens. 


278 


THE  GUARDS'  CLUB 

Was  formerly  housed  in  St.  Jameses-street,  next  Crock- 
ford's,  north;  but,  in  1850,  they  removed  to  Pall  Mall, 
No.  70.  The  new  Club-house  was  designed  for  them 
by  Henry  Harrison,  and  remarkable  for  its  compactness 
and  convenience,  although  its  size  and  external  appear- 
ance indicate  no  more  than  a  private  house.  The  archi- 
tect has  adopted  some  portion  of  a  design  of  Sansovino's 
in  the  lower  part  or  basement. 


THE  ARMY  AND  NAVY  CLUB. 

The  Army  and  Navy  Club-house,  Pall  Mall,  corner  of 
George- street,  designed  by  Parnell  and  Smith,  was  opened 
February  1851.  The  exterior  is  a  combination  from 
Sansovino's  Palazzo  Cornaro,  and  Library  of  St.  Mark 
at  Venice;  but  varying  in  the  upper  part,  which  has 
Corinthian  columns,  with  windows  resembling  arcades 
filling  up  the  intercolumns ;  and  over  their  arched  head- 
ings are  groups  of  naval  and  military  symbols,  weapons, 
and  defensive  armour — very  picturesque.  The  frieze  has 
also  effective  groups  symbolic  of  the  Army  and  Navy ; 
the  cornice,  likewise  very  bold,  is  crowned  by  a  massive 
balustrade.  The  basement,  from  the  Cornaro,  is  rusti- 
cated ;  the  entrance  being  in  the  centre  of  the  east  or 
George-street  front,   by  three  open  arches,  similar  in 


THE  ARMY  AND  NAVY  CLUB.       279 

character  to  those  in  the  Strand  front  of  Somerset  House. 
The  whole  is  extremely  rich  in  ornamental  detail.  The 
hall  is  fine ;  the  coffee-room  is  panelled  with  scagliola, 
and  has  a  ceiling  enriched  with  flowers,  and  pierced  for 
ventilation  by  heated  flues  above;  adjoining  is  a  room 
lighted  by  a  glazed  plafond ;  next  is  the  house  dining- 
room,  decorated  in  the  Munich  style ;  and  more  superb 
is  the  morning-room,  with  its  arched  windows,  and 
mirrors  forming  arcades  and  vistas  innumerable.  A 
magnificent  stone  staircase  leads  to  the  library  and 
reading  rooms ;  and  in  the  third  story  are  billiard  and 
card  rooms;  and  a  smoking-room,  with  a  lofty  dome 
elaborately  decorated  in  traceried  Moresque.  The  apart 
ments  are  adorned  with  an  equestrian  portrait  of  Queen 
Victoria,  painted  by  Grant,  R.A. ;  a  piece  of  Gobelin 
tapestry  (Sacrifice  to  Diana),  presented  to  the  Club  in 
1849  by  Prince  Louis  Napoleon;  marble  busts  of  Wil- 
liam IV.  and  the  Dukes  of  Kent  and  Cambridge;  and 
several  life-size  portraits  of  naval  and  military  heroes. 
The  Club-house  is  provided  with  twenty  lines  of  Whi- 
shaw's  Telekouphona,  or  Speaking  Telegraph,  which 
communicate  from  the  Secretary's  room  to  the  various 
apartments.  The  cost  of  this  superb  edifice,  exclusive  of 
fittings,  was  35,000/. ;  the  plot  of  ground  on  which  it 
stands  cost  the  Club  52,000/. 

The  Club  system  has  added  several  noble  specimens 
of  ornate  architecture  to  the  metropolis;  to  the  south 
side  of  Pall  Mall  these  fine  edifices  have  given  a  truly 
patrician  air.  But,  it  is  remarkable  that  while  both 
parties  political  have  contributed  magnificent  edifices 
towards  the  metropolis  and  their  opinions;  while  the 
Conservatives  can  show  with  pride  two  splendid  piles 
and  the  Liberals  at  least  one  handsome  one ;  while  the 


280  CLUB  LIFE  OF  LONDON. 

Army  and  Navy  have  recently  a  third  palace — the 
most  successful  of  the  three  they  can  boast  \  while  the 
Universities,  the  sciences,  even  our  Indian  empire, 
come  forward,  the  fashionable  clubs,  the  aristocratic 
clubs  do  nothing  for  the  general  aspect  of  London,  and 
have  made  no  move  in  a  direction  where  they  ought  to 
have  been  first.  Can  anything  be  more  paltry  than  that 
bay-window  from  which  the  members  of  White's  con- 
template the  cabstand  and  the  Wellington  Tavern  ?  and 
yet  a  little  management  might  make  that  house  worthy 
of  its  unparalleled  situation  j  and  if  it  were  extended  to 
Piccadilly,  it  would  be  the  finest  thing  of  its  kind  in 
Europe. 


THE   JUNIOR  UNITED  SERVICE   CLUB, 

At  the  corner  of  Charles-street  and  Regent-street,  was 
erected  in  1855-57,  Nelson  and  James,  architects,  and 
has  a  most  embellished  exterior,  enriched  with  character- 
istic sculpture  by  John  Thomas.  The  design  is  described 
in  the  Builder  as  in  the  Italian  style  of  architecture,  the 
bay-window  in  Regent-street  forming  a  prominent  fea- 
ture in  the  composition,  above  which  is  a  sculptured 
group  allegorical  of  the  Army  and  Navy.  The  whole  of 
the  sculpture  and  ornamental  details  throughout  the 
building  are  characteristic  of  the  profession  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Club.  The  exterior  of  the  building  is  sur- 
mounted by  a  richly-sculptured  cornice,  with  modillion 
and  dentils,  and  beneath  it  an  elaborate  frieze,  having 
medallions  with  trophies  and  other  suitable  emblems, 


CROCKFORD'S   CLUB.  281 

separated  from  each  other  by  the  rose,  shamrock,  and 
thistle.  The  external  walls  of  the  building  are  of  Bath 
stone,  and  the  balustrade  round  the  area  is  of  Portland 
stone;  and  upon  the  angle-pieces  of  this  are  bronze 
lamps,  supported  by  figures.  The  staircase  is  lighted 
from  the  top  by  a  handsome  lantern,  filled  with  painted 
glass,  with  an  elaborate  coved  and  ornamented  ceiling 
around.  On  the  landing  of  the  half  space  are  two 
pairs  of  caryatidal  figures,  and  single  figures  against  the 
walls,  supporting  three  semicircular  arches,  and  the 
whole  is  reflected  by  looking-glasses  on  the  landing. 
On  the  upper  landing  of  the  staircase,  is  the  celebrated 
picture,  by  Allan,  of  the  Battle  of  Waterloo.  Upon  the 
first  floor  fronting  Regent- street,  and  over  the  morning- 
room,  and  of  the  same  dimensions,  is  the  evening-room, 
which  is  also  used  as  a  picture-gallery,  24  feet  high,  with 
a  bay-window  fronting  Regent-street.  In  the  gallery  are 
portraits  of  military  and  naval  commanders ;  Queen  Vic- 
toria and  Prince  Albert,  and  the  Emperor  Napoleon ; 
and  an  allegorical  group  in  silver,  presented  to  the  Club 
by  his  Imperial  Majesty. 


CROCKFORD'S  CLUB. 

This  noted  gaming  Club-house,  No.  50,  on  the  west 

side  of  St.  James's-street,  over  against  White's,  was  built 

t  for  Mr.  Crockford,  in  1827  ;  B.  and  P.  Wyatt,  architects. 

Crockford  started  in  life  as  a  fishmonger,  at  the  old 
bulk-shop  next-door  to  Temple  Bar  Without,  which  he 
quitted   for   play  in  St.  James's.     "  For  several   years 


282  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON. 

deep  play  went  on  at  all  the  Clubs — fluctuating  both  as 
to  locality  and  amount — till  by  degrees  it  began  to  flag. 
It  was  at  a  low  ebb  when  Mr.  Crockford  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  the  most  colossal  fortune  that  was  ever  made  by 
play.  He  began  by  taking  Watier's  old  Club-house,  in 
partnership  with  a  man  named  Taylor.  They  set  up  a 
hazard-bank,  and  won  a  great  deal  of  money,  but  quar- 
relled and  separated  at  the  end  of  the  first  year.  Taylor 
continued  where  he  was,  had  a  bad  year,  and  failed. 
Crockford  removed  to  St.  James's-street,  had  a  good 
year,  and  immediately  set  about  building  the  magnificent 
Club-house  which  bears  his  name.  It  rose  like  a  crea- 
tion of  Aladdin's  lamp  ;  and  the  genii  themselves  could 
hardly  have  surpassed  the  beauty  of  the  internal  decora- 
tions, or  furnished  a  more  accomplished  maitre  d'hotel 
than  Ude.  To  make  the  company  as  select  as  possible, 
the  establishment  was  regularly  organized  as  a  Club,  and 
the  election  of  members  vested  in  a  committee.  f  Crock- 
ford's  '  became  the  rage,  and  the  votaries  of  fashion, 
whether  they  liked  play  or  not,  hastened  to  enrol  them- 
selves. The  Duke  of  Wellington  was  an  original  mem- 
ber, though  (unlike  Bliicher,  who  repeatedly  lost  every- 
thing he  had  at  play)  the  great  Captain  was  never  known 
to  play  deep  at  any  game  but  war  or  politics.  Card- 
tables  were  regularly  placed,  and  whist  was  played  occa- 
sionally; but  the  aim,  end,  and  final  cause  of  the  whole 
was  the  hazard-bank,  at  which  the  proprietor  took  his 
nightly  stand,  prepared  for  all  comers.  Le  Wellington 
des  Joueurs  lost  23,000/.  at  a  sitting,  beginning  at  twelve 
at  night,  and  ending  at  seven  the  following  evening.  He 
and  three  other  noblemen  could  not  have  lost  less,  sooner 
or  later,  than  100,000/.  apiece.  Others  lost  in  propor- 
tion (or  out  of  proportion)  to  their  means ;  but  we  leave 


CROCKFORD'S   CLUB.  283 

it  to  less  occupied  moralists,  and  better  calculators,  to  say 
how  many  ruined  families  went  to  make  Mr.  Crockford 
a  millionnaire — for  a  millionnaire  he  was  in  the  English 
sense  of  the  term,  after  making  the  largest  possible  al- 
lowance for  bad  debts.  A  vast  sum,  perhaps  half  a  mil- 
lion, was  sometimes  due  to  him;  but  as  he  won,  all  his 
debtors  were  able  to  raise,  and  easy  credit  was  the  most 
fatal  of  his  lures.  He  retired  in  1840,  much  as  an  In- 
dian chief  retires  from  a  hunting  country  when  there  is 
not  game  enough  left  for  his  tribe,  and  the  Club  is  now 
tottering  to  its  fall."* 

The  Club-house  consists  of  two  wings  and  a  centre, 
with  four  Corinthian  pilasters,  and  entablature,  and  a 
balustrade  throughout ;  the  ground-floor  has  Venetian 
windows,  and  the  upper  story,  large  French  windows. 
The  entrance-hall  had  a  screen  of  Roman-Ionic  scagliola 
columns  with  gilt  capitals,  and  a  cupola  of  gilding  and 
stained  glass.  The  library  has  Sienna  columns  and  antse 
of  the  Ionic  order,  from  the  Temple  of  Minerva  Polias  ; 
the  staircase  is  panelled  with  scagliola,  and  enriched  with 
Corinthian  columns.  The  grand  drawing-room  is  in 
the  style  of  Louis  Quatorze  :  azure  ground,  with  elabo- 
rate cove ;  ceiling  enrichments  bronze  gilt ;  door- way 
paintings  a  la  Watteau ;  and  panelling,  masks,  terminals, 
heavily  gilt.  Upon  the  opening  of  the  Club-house,  it 
was  described  in  the  exaggerated  style,  as  "the  New 
Pandemonium ;  the  drawing-rooms,  or  real  Hell,  consist- 
ing of  four  chambers ;  the  first  an  ante-room,  opening 
to  a  saloon  embellished  to  a  degree  which  baffles  descrip- 
tion; thence  to  a  small,  curiously-formed  cabinet,  or 
boudoir,  which  opens  to  the  supper  room.  All  these 
rooms  are  panelled  in  the  most  gorgeous  manner,  spaces 

*  Edinburgh  Review. 


234  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON. 

being  left  to  be  filled  up  with  mirrors,  silk  or  gold  en- 
richments; the  ceilings  being  as  superb  as  the  walls.  A 
billiard-room  on  the  upper  floor  completes  the  number  of 
apartments  professedly  dedicated  to  the  use  of  the  mem- 
bers. Whenever  any  secret  manoeuvre  is  to  be  carried 
on,  there  are  smaller  and  more  retired  places,  both  under 
this  roof  and  the  next,  whose  walls  will  tell  no  tales." 

The  cuisine  at  Crockford's  was  of  the  highest  class, 
and  the  members  were  occasionally  very  exigeant,  and 
trying  to  the  patience  of  M.  Ude.  At  one  period  of  his 
presidency,  a  ground  of  complaint,  formally  addressed  to 
the  Committee,  was  that  there  was  an  admixture  of 
onion  in  the  soubise.  Colonel  Damer,  happening  to  enter 
Crockford's  one  evening  to  dine  early,  found  Ude  walk- 
ing up  and  down  in  a  towering  passion,  and  naturally 
inquired  what  was  the  matter.  "  No  matter,  Monsieur 
le  Colonel !  Did  you  see  that  man  who  has  just  gone 
out?  Well,  he  ordered  a  red  mullet  for  his  dinner.  I 
made  him  a  delicious  little  sauce  with  my  own  hands. 
The  price  of  the  mullet  marked  on  the  carte  was  2s. ; 
I  asked  6d.  for  the  sauce.  He  refuses  to  pay  the  6d. 
That  imbecille  apparently  believes  that  the  red  mullets 
come  out  of  the  sea  with  my  sauce  in  their  pockets ! " 
The  imbecille  might  have  retorted  that  they  do  come  out 
of  the  sea  with  their  appropriate  sauce  in  their  pockets; 
but  this  forms  no  excuse  for  damaging  the  consummate 
genius  of  a  Ude. 

The  appetites  of  some  Club  members  appear  to  entitle 
them  to  be  called  gourmands  rather  than  gourmets.  Of 
such  a  member  of  Crockford's  the  following  traits  are 
related  in  the  Quarterly  Review,  No.  110 : — u  The  Lord- 
lieutenant  of  one  of  the  western  counties  eats  a  covey 
of  partridges  for  breakfast  every  day  during  the  season  ; 


CROCKFOED  S   CLUB.  285 

and  there  is  a  popular  M.P.  at  present  [1836]  about 
town  who  would  eat  a  covey  of  partridges,  as  the 
Scotchman  ate  a  dozen  of  becaficos,  for  a  whet,  and  feel 
himself  astonished  if  his  appetite  was  not  accelerated  by 
the  circumstance.  Most  people  must  have  seen  or  heard 
of  a  caricature  representing  a  gentleman  at  dinner  upon 
a  round  of  beef,  with  the  landlord  looking  on.  (  Ca- 
pital beef,  landlord  ! '  says  the  gentleman ;  '  a  man  may 
cut  and  come  again  here/  f  You  may  cut,  Sir/  responds 
Boniface ;  ( but  I'm  blow'd  if  you  shall  come  again.' 
The  person  represented  is  the  M.P.  in  question ;  and 
the  sketch  is  founded  upon  fact.  He  had  occasion  to 
stay  late  in  the  City,  and  walked  into  the  celebrated 
Old  Bailey  beef-shop  on  his  return,  where,  according  to 
the  landlord's  computation,  he  demolished  about  seven 
pounds  and  a  half  of  solid  meat,  with  a  proportionate 
allowance  of  greens.  His  exploits  at  Crockford's  have 
been  such,  that  the  founder  of  that  singular  institution 
has  more  than  once  had  serious  thoughts  of  giving  him 
a  guinea  to  sup  elsewhere ;  and  has  only  been  prevented 
by  the  fear  of  meeting  with  a  rebuff  similar  to  that  men- 
tioned in  Roderick  Random  as  received  by  the  master  of 
an  ordinary,  who,  on  proposing  to  buy  off  an  ugly  cus- 
tomer, was  informed  by  him  that  he  had  already  been 
bought  off  by  all  the  other  ordinaries  in  town,  and  was 
consequently  under  the  absolute  necessity  of  continuing 
to  patronize  the  establishment." 

Theodore  Hook  was  a  frequent  visitor  at  Crockford's, 
where  play  did  not  begin  till  late.  Mr.  Barham  de- 
scribes him,  after  going  the  round  of  the  Clubs,  propo- 
sing, with  some  gay  companion,  to  finish  with  half  an 
hour  at  Crockford's  :  "  The  half-hour  is  quadrupled,  and 
the  excitement  of  the  preceding  evening  was  nothing  to 


286  CLUB  LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

that  which  now  ensued."  He  had  a  receipt  of  his  own 
to  prevent  being  exposed  to  the  night  air.  "  I  was  very 
ill/'  he  once  said,  "  some  months  ago,  and  my  doctor 
gave  me  particular  orders  not  to  expose  myself  to  it; 
so  I  come  up  [from  Fulham]  every  day  to  Crockford's, 
or  some  other  place  to  dinner,  and  I  make  it  a  rule  on 
no  account  to  go  home  again  till  about  four  or  five 
o'clock  in  the  morning." 

After  Crockford's  death,  the  Club-house  was  sold  by 
his  executors  for  2,900/. ;  held  on  lease,  of  which  thirty- 
two  years  were  unexpired,  subject  to  a  yearly  rent  of 
1,400/.  It  is  said  that  the  decorations  alone  cost  94,000/. 
The  interior  was  re-decorated  in  1849,  and  opened  for 
the  Military,  Naval,  and  County  Service  Club,  but  was 
closed  again  in  1851.  It  has  been,  for  several  years,  a 
dining-house — "  the  Wellington. " 

Crockford's  old  bulk-shop,  west  of  Temple-bar,  was 
taken  down  in  1846.  It  is  engraved  in  Archer's  Vestiges  of 
London,  part  i.  A  view  in  1 795,  in  the  Crowle  Pennant, 
presents  one  tall  gable  to  the  street ;  but  the  pitch  of 
the  roof  had  been  diminished  by  adding  two  imperfect 
side  gables.  The  heavy  pents  originally  traversed  over 
each  of  the  three  courses  of  windows;  it  was  a  mere 
timber  frame  filled  up  with  lath  and  plaster,  the  beams 
being  of  deal  with  short  oak  joints  :  it  presented  a  capi- 
tal example  of  the  old  London  bulk-shop  (sixteenth  cen- 
tury), with  a  heavy  canopy  projecting  over  the  pathway, 
and  turned  up  at  the  rim  to  carry  off  the  rain  endwise. 
This  shop  had  long  been  held  by  a  succession  of  fish- 
mongers ;  and  Crockford  would  not  permit  the  house- 
front  to  be  altered  in  his  lifetime.  He  was  known  in 
gaming  circles  by  the  sobriquet  of  "  the  Fishmonger." 


287 


"KING   ALLEN,"  "THE  GOLDEN   BALL," 
AND  SCROPE  DAVIES. 

In  the  old  days  when  gaming  was  in  fashion,  at 
Watier's  Club,  princes  and  nobles  lost  or  gained  fortunes 
between  themselves.  It  was  the  same  at  Brookes' s,  one 
member  of  which,  Lord  Robert  Spencer,  was  wise  enough 
to  apply  what  he  had  won  to  the  purchase  of  the  estate 
of  Woolbidding,  Suffolk.  Then  came  Crockford's  hell, 
the  proprietor  of  which,  a  man  who  had  begun  life  with 
a  fish-basket,  won  the  whole  of  the  ready  money  of 
the  then  existing  generation  of  aristocratic  simpletons. 
Among  the  men  who  most  suffered  by  play  was  Viscount 
Allen,  or  (  King  Allen/  as  he  was  called.  This  effemi- 
nate dandy  had  fought  like  a  young  lion  in  Spain ;  for 
the  dandies,  foolish  as  they  looked,  never  wanted  pluck. 
The  ' King'  then  lounged  about  town,  grew  fat,  lost  his 
all,  and  withdrew  to  Dublin,  where,  in  Merrion-square, 
he  slept  behind  a  large  brass  plate  with  l  Viscount 
Allen'  upon  it,  which  was  as  good  to  him  as  board 
wages,  for  it  brought  endless  invitations  from  people 
eager  to  feed  a  viscount  at  any  hour  of  the  day  or  night, 
although  King  Allen  had  more  ready  ability  in  uttering 
disagreeable  than  witty  things. 

Very  rarely  indeed  did  any  of  the  ruined  gamesters 
ever  get  on  their  legs  again.  The  Golden  Ball,  how- 
ever, was  an  exception.  Ball  Hughes  fell  from  the  very 
top  of  the  gay  pagoda  into  the  mud,  but  even  there,  as 
life  was  nothing  to  him  without  the  old  excitement,  he 
played  pitch  and  toss  for  halfpence,  and  he  won  and  lost 


283  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON. 

small  ventures  at  battledore  and  shuttlecock,  which  in- 
nocent exercise  he  turned  into  a  gambling  speculation. 
After  he  withdrew,  in  very  reduced  circumstances,  to 
France,  his  once  mad  purchase  of  Oatlands  suddenly 
assumed  a  profitable  aspect.  The  estate  was  touched  by 
a  railway  and  admired  by  building  speculators,  and  be- 
tween the  two  the  Ball,  in  its  last  days,  had  a  very  cheer- 
ful and  glittering  aspect  indeed. 

Far  less  lucky  than  Hughes  was  Scrope  Davies, 
whose  name  was  once  so  familiar  to  every  man  and  boy 
about  town.  There  was  good  stuff  about  this  dandy. 
He  one  night  won  the  whole  fortune  of  an  aspiring  fast 
lad  who  had  come  of  age  the  week  before,  and  who  was 
so  prostrated  by  his  loss  that  kindly-hearted  Scrope  gave 
back  the  fortune  the  other  had  lost,  on  his  giving  his 
word  of  honour  never  to  play  again.  Davies  stuck  to 
the  green  baize  till  his  own  fortune  had  gone  among  a 
score  of  less  compassionate  gentlemen.  His  distressed 
condition  was  made  known  to  the  young  fellow  to  whom 
he  had  formerly  acted  with  so  much  generosity,  and 
that  grateful  heir  refused  to  lend  him  even  a  guinea. 
Scrope  was  not  of  the  gentlemen-ruffians  of  the  day 
who  were  addicted  to  cruelly  assaulting  men  weaker  than 
themselves.  He  was  well-bred  and  a  scholar;  and  he 
bore  his  reverses  with  a  rare  philosophy.  His  home 
was  on  a  bench  in  the  Tuileries,  where  he  received  old 
acquaintances  who  visited  him  in  exile ;  but  he  admitted 
only  very  tried  friends  to  the  little  room  where  he  read 
and  slept.  He  was  famed  for  his  readiness  in  quoting 
the  classical  poets,  and  for  his  admiration  of  Moore,  in 
whose  favour  those  quotations  were  frequently  made. 
They  were  often  most  happy.  For  example,  he  trans- 
lated '  Ubi  plura  nitent  non  ego  paucis  offendar  maculis/ 


THE    FOUR-IN-HAND   CLUB.  289 

by  Moore  shines  so  brightly  that  I  cannot  find  fault  with 
Little's  vagaries  /'  He  also  rendered  •  Ne  plus  ultra/ 
'  Nothing  is  better  than  Moore  V  "* 


THE  FOUR-IN-HAND  CLUB. 

Gentleman-coaching  has  scarcely  been  known  in  Eng- 
land seventy  years.  The  Anglo-Erichthonius,  the  Hon. 
Charles  Finch,  brother  to  the  Earl  of  Aylesford,  used  to 
drive  his  own  coach- and-four,  disguised  in  a  livery  great- 
coat. Soon  after  his  debut,  however,  the  celebrated 
"  Tommy  Onslow/'  Sir  John  Lacy,  and  others,  mounted 
the  box  in  their  own  characters.  Sir  John  was  esteemed 
a  renowned  judge  of  coach -horses  and  carriages,  and  a 
coachman  of  the  old  school ;  but  everything  connected 
with  the  coach- box  has  undergone  such  a  change,  that 
the  Nestors  of  the  art  are  no  longer  to  be  quoted.  Among 
the  celebrities  may  be  mentioned  the  "  B.  C.  D.,"  or 
Benson  Driving  Club,  which  held  its  rendezvous  at  the 
"  Black  Dog/'  Bedfont,  as  one  of  the  numerous  dri- 
ving associations,  whose  processions  used,  some  five-and- 
thirty  years  ago,  to  be  among  the  most  imposing,  as 
well  as  peculiar,  spectacles  in  and  about  the  metropolis. 

On  the  stage,  the  gentlemen  drivers,  of  whom  the 
members  of  the  Four-in-Hand  Club  were  the  exclusive 
elite,  were  illustrated  rather  than  caricatured  in  Goldfinch, 
in  Holeroft's  comedy  The  Road  to  Ruin.  Some  of  them 
who  had  not  "  drags  w  of  their  own,  ' '  tipped  "  a  weekly 
allowance  to  stage  coachmen,  to  allow  them  to  "  finger 
the  ribbons/'  and  "  tool  the  team."      Of  course,  they 

*  Athenaeum  review  of  Captain  Gronow's  Anecdotes. 
VOL.  I.  U 


290  CLUB  LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

frequently  "  spilt "  the  passengers.  The  closeness  with 
which  the  professional  coachmen  were  imitated  by  the 
"  bucks,"  is  shown  in  the  case  of  wealthy  young  Ackers, 
who  had  one  of  his  front  teeth  taken  out,  in  order  that 
he  might  acquire  the  true  coachman-like  way  of  "  spit- 
ting." There  were  men  of  brains,  nevertheless,  in  the 
Four-in-Hand,  who  knew  how  to  ridicule  such  fellow- 
members  as  Lord  Onslow,  whom  they  thus  immortalized 
in  an  epigram  of  that  day  : — 

"  What  can  Tommy  Onslow  do  ? 
He  can  drive  a  coach  and  two ! 
Can  Tommy  Onslow  do  no  more  ? 
He  can  drive  a  coach  and  four." 

It  is  a  curious  fact,  that  the  fashion  of  amateur  cha- 
rioteering was  first  set  by  the  ladies.  Dr.  Young  has 
strikingly  sketched,  in  his  satires,  the  Delia  who  was  as 
good  a  coachman  as  the  man  she  paid  for  being  so : — 

"  Graceful  as  John,  she  moderates  the  reins, 
And  whistles  sweet  her  diuretic  strains." 

The  Four-in-Hand  combined  gastronomy  with»eques- 
trianism  and  charioteering.  They  always  drove  out  of 
town  to  dinner,  and  the  ghost  of  Scrope  Davies  will 
pardon  our  suggesting  that  the  club  of  drivers  and  diners 
might  well  have  taken  for  their  motto,  "Quadrigis, 
petimus  bene  vivere  !  "  * 

There  is  another  version  of  the  epigram  on  Tom  On- 
slow : — 

"  Say,  what  can  Tommy  Onslow  do  ? 
Can  drive  a  curricle  and  two. 
Can  Tommy  Onslow  do  no  more  ? 
Yes, — drive  a  curricle  and  four." 

*  Athenaeum,  No.  1739. 


THE  FOUR-IN-HAND   CLUB.  291 

Thu  is  the  version  current,  we  are  told,  among  Onslow's 
relations  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Guildford. 

Lord  Onslow's  celebrity  as  a  whip  long  preceded  the 
existence  of  the  Four-in-Hand  Club  (the  palmy  days  of 
which  belong  to  the  times  of  George  the  Fourth),  and  it 
was  not  a  coach,  but  a  phaeton,  that  he  drove.  A  cor- 
respondent of  the  Athenceum  writes :  "  I  knew  him  per- 
sonally, in  my  own  boyhood,  in  Surrey,  in  the  first  years 
of  the  present  century ;  and  I  remember  then  hearing  the 
epigram  now  referred  to,  not  as  new,  but  as  well  known, 
in  the  following  form  : — 

<  What  can  little  T.  O.  do  ? 
Drive  a  phaeton  and  two. 
Can  little  T.  O.  do  no  more  ? 
Yes,—  drive  a  phaeton  and  four.' 

Tommy  Onslow  was  a  little  man,  full  of  life  and  oddi- 
ties, one  of  which  was  a  fondness  for  driving  into  odd 
places ;  and  I  remember  the  surprise  of  a  pic-nic  party, 
which  he  joined  in  a  secluded  spot,  driving  up  in  his 
■  phaeton  and  four '  through  ways  that  were  hardly  sup- 
posed passable  by  anything  beyond  a  flock  of  sheep. 
An  earlier  exploit  of  his  had  a  less  agreeable  termination. 
He  was  once  driving  through  Thames- street,  when  the 
hook  of  a  crane,  dangling  down  in  front  of  one  of  the 
warehouses^  caught  the  hood  of  the  phaeton,  tilting  him 
out,  and  the  fall  broke  his  collar-bone." 

The  vehicles  of  the  Club  which  were  formerly  used 
are  described  as  of  a  hybrid  class,  quite  as  elegant  as 
private  carriages  and  lighter  than  even  the  mails.  They 
were  horsed  with  the  finest  animals  that  money  could 
secure.  In  general,  the  whole  four  in  each  carriage 
were  admirably  matched ;  grey  and  chestnut  were  the 
favourite  colours,  but  occasionally  very  black   horses, 

u  2 


292  CLUB  LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

or  such  as  were  freely  flecked  with  white,  were  preferred. 
The  master  generally  drove  the  team,  often  a  nobleman 
of  high  rank,  who  commonly  copied  the  dress  of  a  mail 
coachman.  The  company  usually  rode  outside,  but  two 
footmen  in  rich  liveries  were  indispensable  on  the  back 
seat,  nor  was  it  at  all  uncommon  to  see  some  splendidly 
attired  female  on  the  box.  A  rule  of  the  Club  was  that 
all  members  should  turn  out  three  times  a  week ;  and 
the  start  was  made  at  mid-day,  from  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Piccadilly,  through  which  they  passed  to  the 
Windsor-road, — the  attendants  of  each  carriage  playing 
on  their  silver  bugles.  From  twelve  to  twenty  of  these 
handsome  vehicles  often  left  London  together. 

There  remain  a  few  handsome  drags,  superbly  horsed. 
In  a  note  to  Nimrod's  life-like  sketch,  "  The  Road,"* 
it  is  stated  that  "  only  ten  years  back,  there  were  from 
thirty-four  to  forty  four-in-hand  equipages  to  be  seen 
constantly  about  town." 

Nimrod  has  some  anecdotical  illustrations  of  the  taste 
for  the  whip,  which  has  undoubtedly  declined;  and  at 
one  time,  perhaps,  it  occupied  more  attention  among 
the  higher  classes  of  society  than  we  ever  wish  to  see  it 
do  again.  Yet,  taken  in  moderation,  we  can  perceive 
no  reason  to  condemn  this  branch  of  sport  more  than 
others.  "If  so  great  a  personage  as  Sophocles  could 
think  it  fitting  to  display  his  science  in  public,  in  the 
trifling  game  of  ball,  why  may  not  an  English  gentle- 
man exercise  his  skill  on  a  coach-box  ?  If  the  Athe- 
nians, the  most  polished  nation  of  all  antiquity,  deemed 
it  an  honour  to  be  considered  skilful  charioteers,  why 
should  Englishmen  consider  it  a  disgrace  ?     To  be  se- 

#  Written,  it  must  be  recollected,  some  thirty  years  since. 
Reprinted  in  Murray's  'Heading  for  the  Rail.' 


THE   FOUR-IN-HAND   CLUB.  293 

rious,  our  amateur  or  gentlemen-coachmen  have  done 
much  good  :  the  road  would  never  have  been  what  it 
now  is,  but  for  the  encouragement  they  gave,  by  their 
notice  and  support,  to  all  persons  connected  with  it. 
Would,  the  Holyhead  road  have  been  what  it  is,  had 
there  been  no  such  persons  as  the  Hon.  Thomas  Ken- 
yon,  Sir  Henry  Parnell,  and  Mr.  Maddox  ?  Would  the 
Oxford  coachmen  have  set  so  good  an  example  as  they 
have  done  to  their  brethren  of  c  the  bench/  had  there 
been  no  such  men  on  their  road  as  Sir  Henry  Peyton, 
Lord  Clonmel,  the  late  Sir  Thomas  Mostyn ;  that  Nes- 
tor of  coachmen,  Mr.  Annesley ;  and  the  late  Mr.  Har- 
rison of  Shelswell?  Would  not  the  unhappy  coachmen 
of  five-and-twenty  years  back  have  gone  on,  wearing 
out  their  breeches  with  the  bumping  of  the  old  coach- 
box, and  their  stomachs  with  brandy,  had  not  Mr. 
Warde  of  Squerries,  after  many  a  weary  endeavour,  per- 
suaded the  proprietors  to  place  their  boxes  upon  springs 
— the  plan  for  accomplishing  which  was  suggested  by 
Mr.  Roberts,  nephew  to  then  proprietor  of  the  White 
Horse,  Fetter  Lane,  London,  but  now  of  the  Royal 
Hotel,  Calais  ?  Wrhat  would  the  Devonshire  road  have 
been,  but  for  the  late  Sir  Charles  Bamfylde,  Sir  John 
Rogers,  Colonel  Prouse,  Sir  Lawrence  Palk,  and  others  ? 
Have  the  advice  and  the  practice  of  such  experienced 
men  as  Mr.  Charles  Buxton,  Mr.  Henry  Villebois,  Mr. 
Okeover,  Sir  Bellingham  Graham,  Mr.  John  Walker, 
Lord  Sefton,  Sir  Felix  Agar,*  Mr.  Ackers,  Mr.  Maxse, 

*  Perhaps  one  of  the  finest  specimens  of  good  coachmanship 
was  performed  by  Sir  Felix  Agar.  He  made  a  bet,  which  he 
won,  that  he  would  drive  his  own  four-horses-in-hand,  up  Gros- 
venor-place,  down  the  passage  into  Tattersall's  Yard,  around  the 
pillar  which  stands  in  the  centre  of  it,  and  back  again  into 
Grosvenor-place,  without  either  of  his  horses  going  at  a  slower 
pace  than  a  trot. 


294  CLUB  LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

Hon.  Fitzroy  Stanhope,  Colonel  Spicer,  Colonel  Sib- 
thorpe,  cum  multis  aliis,  been  thrown  away  upon  persons 
who  have  looked  up  to  them  as  protectors  ?  Certainly 
not :  neither  would  the  improvement  in  carriages — 
stage-coaches  more  especially — have  arrived  at  its  pre- 
sent height,  but  for  the  attention  and  suggestions  of 
such  persons  as  we  have  been  speaking  of." 

A  commemoration  of  long  service  in  the  coaching 
department  may  be  related  here.  In  the  autumn  of 
1835,  a  handsome  compliment  was  paid  to  Mr.  Charles 
Holmes,  the  driver  and  part  proprietor  of  the  Blenheim 
coach  (from  Woodstock  to  London)  to  celebrate  the 
completion  of  his  twentieth  year  on  that  well-appointed 
coach,  a  period  that  had  elapsed  without  a  single  acci- 
dent to  his  coach,  his  passengers,  or  himself;  and  during 
which  time,  with  the  exception  of  a  very  short  absence 
from  indisposition,  he  had  driven  his  sixty-five  miles 
every  day,  making  somewhere  about  twenty-three  thou- 
sand miles  a  year.  The  numerous  patrons  of  the  coach 
entered  into  a  subscription  to  present  him  with  a  piece 
of  plate ;  and  accordingly  a  cup,  bearing  the  shape  of  an 
antique  vase,  the  cover  surmounted  by  a  beautifully 
modelled  horse,  with  a  coach  and  four  horses  on  one 
side,  and  a  suitable  inscription  on  the  other,  was  pre- 
sented to  Mr.  Holmes  by  that  staunch  patron  of  the 
road,  Sir  Henry  Peyton,  Bart.,  in  August,  at  a  dinner 
at  the  Thatched  House  Tavern,  St.  Jameses-street,  to 
which  between  forty  and  fifty  gentlemen  sat  down.  The 
list  of  subscribers  amounted  to  upwards  of  two  hundred 
and  fifty,  including  among  others  the  Duke  of  Wel- 
lington. 


295 


WHIST  CLUBS. 

To  Hoyle  has  been  ascribed  the  invention  of  the 
game  of  Whist.  This  is  certainly  a  mistake,  though 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  it  was  indebted  to  him  for 
being  first  specially  treated  of  and  introduced  to  the 
public  in  a  scientific  manner.  He  also  wrote  on  piquet, 
quadrille,  and  backgammon,  but  little  is  known  of  him 
more  than  he  was  born  in  1672,  and  died  in  Cavendish- 
square  on  29th  August,  1769,  at  the  advanced  age  of 
ninety-seven.  He  was  a  barrister  by  profession,  and  Regis- 
trar of  the  Prerogative  in  Ireland,  a  post  worth  £600  a 
year.  His  treatise  on  Whist,  for  which  he  received  from 
the  publisher  the  sum  of  £1000,  ran  through  five  edi- 
tions in  one  year,  besides  being  extensively  pirated. 

"  Whist,  Ombre,  and  Quadrille,  at  Court  were  used, 
And  Bassett's  power  the  City  dames  amused, 
Imperial  Whist  was  yet  but  slight  esteemed, 
And  pastime  fit  for  none  but  rustics  deemed. 
How  slow  at  first  is  still  the  growth  of  fame  ! 
And  what  obstructions  wait  each  rising  name  ! 
Our  stupid  fathers  thus  neglected,  long, 
The  glorious  boast  of  Milton's  epic  song ; 
But  Milton's  muse  at  last  a  critic  found, 
Who  spread  his  praise  o'er  all  the  world  around ; 
And  Hoyle  at  length,  for  Whist  performed  the  same, 
And  proved  its  right  to  universal  fame." 

Whist  first  began  to  be  popular  in  England  about 
1730,  when  it  was  very  closely  studied  by  a  party  of 
gentlemen,  who  formed  a  sort  of  Club,  at  the  Crown 
Coffee-house  in  Bedford-row.     Hovle  is  said  to  have 


296  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON. 

given  instructions  in  the  game,  for  which  his  charge  was 
a  guinea  a  lesson. 

The  Laws  of  Whist  have  been  variously  given .*  More 
than  half  a  century  has  elapsed  since  the  supremacy  of 
"  long  whist "  was  assailed  by  a  reformed,  or  rather  re- 
volutionized form  of  the  game.  The  champions  of  the 
ancient  rules  and  methods  did  not  at  once  submit  to 
the  innovation.  The  conservatives  were  not  without 
some  good  arguments  on  their  side ;  but  ' '  short  whist" 
had  attractions  that  proved  irresistible,  and  it  has  long 
since  fully  established  itself  as  the  only  game  to  be  un- 
derstood when  whist  is  named.  But  hence,  in  the 
course  of  time,  has  arisen  an  inconvenience.  The  old 
school  of  players  had,  in  the  works  of  Hoyle  and  Caven- 
dish, manuals  and  text-books  of  which  the  rules,  cases, 
and  decisions  were  generally  accepted.  For  short  whist 
no  such  " volume  paramount"  has  hitherto  existed. 
Hoyle  could  not  be  safely  trusted  by  a  learner,  so  much 
contained  in  that  venerable  having  become  obsolete. 
Thus,  doubtful  cases  arising  out  of  the  short  game  had 
to  be  referred  to  the  best  living  players  for  decision. 
But  there  was  some  confusion  in  the  "  whist  world," 
and  the  necessity  of  a  code  of  the  modern  laws  and  rules 
of  this  "  almost  perfect "  game  had  become  apparent, 
when  a  combined  effort  was  made  by  a  committee  of 
some  of  the  most  skilful  to  supply  the  deficiency. 

The  movement  was  commenced  by  Mr.  J.  Loraine 
Baldwin,  who  obtained  the  assistance  of  a  Committee,  in- 
eluding  members  of  several  of  the  best  London  Clubs 
well  known  as  whist  players.  They  were  deputed  to 
draw  up  a  code  of  rules  for  the  game,  which,  if  approved, 
was  to  be  adopted  by  the  Arlington  Club.  They  performed 
*  Abridged  from  the  Times  journal. 


WHIST   CLUBS.  297 

their  task  with  the  most  decided  success.  The  rules 
they  laid  down  as  governing  the  best  modern  practice 
have  been  accepted,  not  only  by  the  Arlington,  but  the 
Army  and  Navy,  Arthur's,  Boodle's,  Brookes' s,  Carlton, 
Conservative,  Garrick,  Guards,  Junior  Carlton,  Port- 
land, Oxford  and  Cambridge,  Reform,  St.  James's, 
White's,  etc.  To  the  great  section  of  the  whist  world 
that  do  not  frequent  Clubs,  it  may  be  satisfactory  to 
know  the  names  of  the  gentlemen  composing  the  Com- 
mittee of  Codification,  whose  rules  are  to  become  law. 
They  are  Admiral  Rous,  chairman ;  Mr.  G.  Bentinck, 
M.P.;  Mr.  J.  Bushe;  Mr.  J.  Clay,  M.P.;  Mr.  C,  Gre- 
ville;  Mr.  R.  Knightley,  M.P.;  Mr.  H.  B.  Mayne; 
Mr.  G.  Payne ;  and  Colonel  Pipon.  The  Laws  of  Short 
Whist*  were  in  1865  published  in  a  small  volume ;  and 
to  this  strictly  legal  portion  of  the  book  is  appended 
A  Treatise  on  the  Game,  by  Mr.  J.  Clay,  M.P.  for  Hull. 
It  may  be  read  with  advantage  by  the  commencing 
student  of  whist  and  the  advanced  player,  and  with 
pleasure  even  by  those  who  are  totally  ignorant  of  it, 
and  have  no  wish  to  learn  it.  There  are  several  inci- 
dental illustrations  and  anecdotes,  that  will  interest 
those  not  gifted  with  the  faculties  good  whist  requires. 
Mr.  Clay  is  reported  to  be  one  of  the  best,  if  not  the 
very  best,  of  modern  players.  The  Dedication  is  as  fol- 
lows :  ' '  To  the  Members  of  the  Portland  Club,  admitted 
among  whom,  as  a  boy,  I  have  passed  many  of  the 
pleasantest  days  of  my  life,  I  have  learned  what  little  I 
know  of  Whist,  and  have  formed  many  of  my  oldest 
friendships,  this  Treatise  on  Short  Whist  is  dedicated 

#  The  Laws  of  Short   Whist,  edited  by  J.  L.  Baldwin,  and  a 
Treatise  on  the  Game,  by  J.  C.     Harrison,  59,  Pall  Mall. 


298  CLUB   LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

with  feelings  of  respect  and  regard,  by  their  old  play- 
fellow, J.  C." 

Leaving  his  instructions,  like  the  rules  of  the  com- 
mittee, to  a  more  severe  test  than  criticism,  we  extract 
from  his  first  chapter  a  description  of  the  incident  to 
which  short  whist  owes  its  origin.  It  will  probably  be 
quite  new  to  thousands  who  are  familiar  with  the  game. 

"  Some  eighty  years  brack,  Lord  Peterborough,  hav- 
ing one  night  lost  a  large  sum  of  money,  the  friends 
with  whom  he  was  playing  proposed  to  make  the  game 
five  points  instead  of  ten,  in  order  to  give  the  loser  a 
chance,  at  a  quicker  game,  of  recovering  his  loss.  The 
new  game  was  found  to  be  so  lively,  and  money  changed 
hands  with  such  increased  rapidity,  that  these  gentle- 
men and  their  friends,  all  of  them  leading  members  of 
the  Clubs  of  the  day,  continued  to  play  it.  It  became 
general  in  the  Clubs,  thence  was  introduced  to  private 
houses,  travelled  into  the  country,  went  to  Paris,  and 
has  long  since  so  entirely  superseded  the  whist  of  Hoyle's 
day,  that  of  short  whist  alone  I  propose  to  treat.  I  shall 
thus  spare  the  reader,  the  learning  much  in  the  old 
works  that  it  is  not  necessary  for  him  to  know,  and  not 
a  little  which,  if  learned,  should  be  at  once  forgotten." 

Graham's,  in  St.  JamesVstreet,  the  greatest  of  Card 
Clubs,  was  dissolved  about  five-and-twenty  years  back. 


PRINCE'S  CLUB  RACQUET  COURTS. 

In  the  early  history  of  the  metropolis  we  find  the  Lon- 
doners warmly  attached  to  outdoor  sports  and  pastimes ; 


PRINCES   CLUB  RACQUET  COURTS.  299 

although  time  and  the  spread  of  the  great  city  have  long 
obliterated  the  sites  upon  which  these  popular  amuse- 
ments were  enjoyed.  Smithfield,  we  know,  was  the  town- 
green  for  centuries  before  it  became  the  focus  of  its 
fanatic  fires ;  Maypoles  stood  in  various  parts  of  the  City 
and  suburbs,  as  kept  in  remembrance  by  name  to  this 
day ;  football  was  played  in  the  main  artery  of  the  town 
— Fleet-street  and  the  Strand,  for  instance ;  paille  matte 
was  played  in  St.  James's  Park,  and  the  street  which  is 
named  after  the  game ;  and  tennis  and  other  games  at 
ball  were  enjoyed  on  open  grounds  long  before  they  were 
played  in  covered  courts ;  while  the  bowling-  greens  in 
the  environs  were  neither  few  nor  far  between,  almost  to 
our  time. 

Tennis,  we  need  scarcely  state  here,  was  originally 
played  with  the  hand,  at  first  naked,  then  covered  with 
a  thick  glove,  to  which  succeeded  the  bat  or  racquet, 
whence  the  present  name  of  the  game.  A  few  of  our 
kings  have  been  tennis-players.  In  the  sixteenth  century 
tennis  courts  were  common  in  England,  being  attached 
to  country  mansions.  Later,  playing-courts  were  opened 
in  the  metropolis :  for  example,  to  the  houses  of  enter- 
ment  which  formerly  stood  at  the  opposite  angles  of 
Windmill-street  and  theHaymarket  were  attached  tennis- 
courts,  which  lasted  to  our  time :  one  of  these  courts 
exists  in  James-street,  Haymarket,  to  this  day.  To 
stroll  out  from  the  heated  and  crowded  streets  of  the 
town  to  the  village  was  a  fashion  of  the  last  century,  as 
we  read  in  the  well-remembered  line — 

"  Some  dukes  at  Marybone  bowl  time  away.'' 

Taking  into  account  the  vast  growth  of  the  metropolis, 
we  are  not  surprised  at  so  luxurious  a  means  of  healthful 
enjoyment  as  a  racquet  court  presents  being  added  to  the 


300  CLUB   LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

establishments  or  institutions  of  this  very  clubbable  age. 
Hitherto  Clubs  had  been  mostly  appropriated  to  the 
purposes  of  refection;  but  why  should  not  the  social 
refinement  be  extended  to  the  enjoyment  of  so  health- 
giving  sport  and  manly  a  pastime  as  racquet  ?  The  ex- 
periment was  made,  and  with  perfect  success,  imme- 
diately upon  the  confines  of  one  of  the  most  recent 
settlements  of  fashion — Belgravia.  It  is  private  property, 
and  bears  the  name  of  "  Prince's  Club  Racquet  Courts." 

The  Club,  established  in  1854,  is  built  upon  the  Pavi- 
lion estate,  in  the  rear  of  the  north  side  of  Sloane-street, 
the  principal  entrance  being  from  Hans-place.  The 
grounds  are  of  considerable  extent,  and  were  originally 
laid  out  by  Capability  Brown.  They  were  almost  envi- 
roned with  lofty  timber- trees ;  and  the  genius  of  land- 
scape gardening,  fostered  by  wealth,  rendered  this  glade 
in  the  Brompton  groves  of  old  a  sort  of  rural  elysium. 

The  Pavilion  estate  was  once  the  property  of  Holland, 
the  well-known  architect,  who  planned  Sloane-street  and 
Hans-place,  as  a  building  speculation;  and,  in  the 
grounds  nearly  between  them,  built  himself  what  was 
then  considered  a  handsome  villa,  the  front  of  which 
was  originally  designed  by  Holland  as  a  model  for  the 
Prince  of  Wales's  Pavilion  at  Brighton ;  hence  the  name, 
the  Pavilion  estate.  In  the  grounds,  among  the  remains 
of  Brown's  ornamental  work,  was  an  icehouse,  amidst 
the  imitative  ruins  of  a  priory.  Here,  also,  were  the 
Ionic  columns  (isolated)  which  were  formerly  in  the 
screen  of  Carlton  House. 

The  Club  buildings  comprise  seven  closed  courts;  a 
tennis  court ;  gallery  and  refreshment  rooms ;  baths,  and 
a  Turkish  bath. 

Prince's  Club  is  a  subscription  establishment ;  and  its 


THE    ANGLING    CLUB.  301 

government  is  vested  in  a  committee.  Gentlemen  de- 
sirous of  becoming  members  of  the  Club  must  be  pro- 
posed and  seconded  by  two  of  its  members.  Two  of  the 
rules  enact — that  members  have  the  privilege  of  intro- 
ducing two  friends,  but  that  such  visitors,  if  they  play, 
be  charged  double  the  rate  charged  to  members;  and 
that  no  hazard,  dice,  or  game  of  chance  be  allowed  in 
this  Club.  Their  Royal  Highnesses  the  Prince  of  Wales 
and  the  Duke  of  Cambridge  are  members. 


AN   ANGLING   CLUB. 

Professor  Owen  is  accustomed  to  relate  the  following 
very  amusing  incident,  which  occurred  in  a  Club  of 
some  of  the  working  scientific  men  of  London,  who, 
with  a  few  others,  after  their  winter's  work  of  lecturing 
is  over,  occasionally  sally  forth  to  have  a  day's  fishing. 
"  We  have,"  says  Professor  Owen,  "  for  that  purpose 
taken  a  small  river  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  metro- 
polis, and  near  its  banks  there  stands  a  little  public- 
house,  where  we  dine  soberly  and  sparingly,  on  such 
food  as  old  Izaak  Walton  loved.  We  have  a  rule  that 
he  who  catches  the  biggest  fish  of  the  day  shall  be  our 
president  for  the  evening.  In  the  course  of  one  day,  a 
member,  not  a  scientific  man,  but  a  high  political  man, 
caught  a  trout  that  weighed  3 \  lb. ;  but  earlier  in  the 
day  he  had  pulled  out  a  barbel  of  half  a  pound  weight. 
So  while  we  were  on  the  way  to  our  inn,  what  did  this 
political  gentleman  do  but,  with  the  butt-end  of  his  rod, 
ram  the  barbel  down  the  trout's  throat,  in  which  state 
he  handed  his  fish  to  be  weighed.     Thus  he  scored  four 


302  CLUB  LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

pounds,  which  being  the  greatest  weight  he  took  the 
chair. 

"  As  we  were  going  away  from  home,  a  man  of  science, 
— it  was  the  President  of  the  Royal  Society, — said  to 
the  man  of  politics,  f  If  you  don't  want  that  fine  fish  of 
yours,  I  should  like  to  have  it,  for  I  have  some  friends 
to  dine  with  me  to-morrow/  My  Lord  took  it  home, 
and  I  heard  no  more  until  we  met  on  the  next  week. 
Then,  while  we  were  preparing  our  tackle,  the  President 
of  the  Royal  Society  said  to  our  high  political  friend, 
(  There  were  some  very  extraordinary  circumstances,  do 
you  know,  about  that  fish  you  gave  me.  I  had  no  idea 
that  the  trout  was  so  voracious ;  but  that  one  had  swal- 
lowed a  barbel/ — '  I  am  astonished  to  hear  your  Lord- 
ship say  so/  rejoined  an  eminent  naturalist;  ' trout  may 
be  voracious  enough  to  swallow  minnows — but  a  barbel, 
my  Lord  !  There  must  be  some  mistake/ — i  Not  at 
all/  replied  his  lordship,  '  for  the  fact  got  to  my  family 
that  the  cook,  in  cutting  open  the  throat,  had  found  a 
barbel  inside;  and  as  my  family  knew  I  was  fond  of 
natural  history,  I  was  called  into  the  kitchen.  There 
I  saw  the  trout  had  swallowed  a  barbel,  full  half  a  pound 
weight.' — '  Out  of  the  question,  my  Lord/  said  the  na- 
turalist ;  '  it's  altogether  quite  unscientific  and  unphilo- 
sophical.' — ( I  don't  know  what  may  be  philosophical  in 
the  matter — I  only  know  I  am  telling  you  a  matter  of 
fact/  said  his  Lordship ;  and  the  dispute  having  lasted 
awhile,  explanations  were  given,  and  the  practical  joke 
was  heartily  enjoyed.  And"  (continued  Professor  Owen) 
"  you  will  see  that  both  were  right  and  both  were  wrong. 
My  Lord  was  right  in  his  fact — the  barbel  was  inside 
the  trout;  but  he  was  quite  wrong  in  his  hypothesis 
founded  upon  that  fact,  that  the  trout  had  therefore 


THE   KED   LIONS.  303 

swallowed   the   barbel, — the   last   was   only  matter   of 
opinion." 


THE   RED   LIONS. 


In  1839,  when  the  British  Association  met  in  Bir- 
mingham, several  of  its  younger  members  happened, 
accidentally,  to  dine  at  the  Bed  Lion,  in  Church-street. 
The  dinner  was  pleasant,  the  guests  well  suited  to  each 
other,  and  the  meeting  altogether  proved  so  agreeable, 
that  it  was  resolved  to  continue  it  from  year  to  year, 
wherever  the  Association  might  happen  to  meet.  By 
degrees  the  "  Red  Lions" — the  name  was  assumed  from 
the  accident  of  the  first  meeting-place — became  a  very 
exclusive  Club ;  and  under  the  presidency  of  Pro- 
fessor Edward  Forbes,  it  acquired  a  celebrity  which,  in 
its  way,  almost  rivalled  that  of  the  Association  itself. 
Forbes  first  drew  around  him  the  small  circle  of  jovial 
philosophers  at  the  Red  Lion.  The  names  of  Lankes- 
ter,  Thomson,  Bell,  Mitchell,  and  Strickland  are  down 
in  the  old  muster-roll.  Many  were  added  afterwards, 
as  the  Club  was  kept  up  in  London,  in  meetings  at  An- 
derton's,  in  Fleet-street.  The  old  cards  of  invitation 
were  very  droll :  they  were  stamped  with  the  figure  of  a 
red  lion  erect,  with  a  pot  of  beer  in  one  paw,  and  a  long 
clay  pipe  in  the  other,  and  the  invitation  commenced 
with  "  The  carnivora  will  feed "  at  such  an  hour. 
Forbes,  who,  as  pater  omnipotens,  always  took  the  chair 
at  the  first  chance  meeting  round  the  plain  table  of  the 
inn,  gave  a  capital  stock  of  humour  to  this  feeding  of 


304  CLUB  LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

the  naturalists  by  taking  up  his  coat-tail  and  roaring 
whenever  a  good  thing  was  said  or  a  good  song  sung ; 
and,  of  course,  all  the  other  Red  Lions  did  the  same. 
When  roaring  and  tail-wagging  became  so  characteristic 
an  institution  among  the  members,  Mr.  Mitchell,  then 
secretary  of  the  Zoological  Society,  presented  a  fine 
lion's  skin  to  the  Club;  and  ever  after  the  President 
sat  with  this  skin  spread  over  his  chair,  the  paws  at  the 
elbows,  and  the  tail  handy  to  be  wagged.  Alas !  this 
tail  no  longer  wags  at  Birmingham,  and  after  vibrating 
with  languid  emotion  in  London,  has  now  ceased  to 
show  any  signs  of  life.  The  old  Red  Lion  has  lost 
heart,  and  has  slumbered  since  the  death  of  Forbes. 

At  the  Meeting  of  the  British  Association  at  Birming- 
ham, in  1865,  an  endeavour  was  made  to  revive  the  Red 
Lion  dinner  on  something  like  its  former  scale ;  the 
idea  being  probably  suggested  by  the  circumstance  of 
the  Club  having  been  originated  in  Birmingham.  Lord 
Houghton,  who  is,  we  believe,  "  an  old  Red,"  presided  ; 
but  the  idiosyncrasy  of  the  real  Red  Lion,  and  his  in- 
tense love  of  plain  roast  and  boiled,  were  missed  :  some 
sixty  guests  sat  down,  not  at  the  Red  Lion,  but  at  a 
hotel  banquet.  Not  one  of  the  celebrants  on  this  occa- 
sion had  passed  through  his  novitiate  as  a  Red  Lion 
cub  :  he  was  not  asked  whether  he  could  roar  or  sing  a 
song,  or  had  ever  said  a  good  thing,  one  of  which  quali- 
fications was  a  sine  qua  non  in  the  old  Club.  There 
were,  however,  some  good  songs  :  Professor  Rankine 
sang  "  The  Mathematician  in  Love,"  a  song  of  his  own. 
Then,  there  are  some  choice  spirits  among  these  philoso- 
phers. After  the  banquet  a  section  adjourned  to  the 
B.  Club,  members  of  which  are  chiefly  chemical  in  their 
serious   moments.      Indeed,   all   through   the   meeting 


THE  COVENTRY,  ERECTHEUM,  ETC.     305 

there  was  a  succession  of  jovial  parties  in  the  identical 
room  at  the  Red  Lion.* 


THE  COVENTRY,  ERECTHEUM,  AND 
PARTHENON  CLUBS. 

The  Coventry,  or  Ambassadors'  Club  was  instituted 
about  twelve  years  since,  at  No.  106,  Piccadilly,  facing 
the  Green  Park.  The  handsome  stone-fronted  mansion 
occupies  the  site  of  the  old  Greyhound  inn,  and  was 
bought  by  the  Earl  of  Coventry  of  Sir  Hugh  H  unlock, 
in  1764,  for  <£10,000,  subject  to  the  ground-rent  of 
£7o  per  annum.  The  Club  enjoyed  but  a  brief  exist- 
ence :  it  was  closed  in  March,  1854. 

The  Erectheum  Club,  St.  James's-square,  corner  of 
York-street,  was  established  by  Sir  John  Dean  Paul, 
Bart.,  and  become  celebrated  for  its  good  dinners.  The 
Club-house  was  formerly  the  town  depot  of  Wedg- 
wood's famous  u  ware ;"  and  occupies  the  site  of  the 
mansion  built  for  the  Earl  of  Romney,  the  handsome 
Sydney  of  De  Grammont's  Memoirs. 

The  Parthenon  Club-house  (late  Mr.  Edwards's),  east 
side  of  Regent-street,  nearly  facing  St.  Philip's  Chapel, 
was  designed  by  Nash  :  the  first  floor  is  elegant  Corin- 
thian. The  south  division  was  built  by  Mr.  Nash  for 
his  own  residence ;  it  has  a  long  gallery,  decorated  from 
a  loggia  of  the  Vatican  at  Rome :  it  is  now  the  Gallery 
of  Illustration. 

"  The  Coventry  Club  was  a  Club  of  most  exclusive 
*  Abridged  from  the  Daily  News. 

VOL.  I.  X 


306  CLUB  LIFE  OF  LONDON. 

exquisites,  and  was  rich  in  diplomacy ;  but  it  blew  up 
in  admired  confusion.  Even  so  did  Lord  Cardigan's 
Club,  founded  upon  the  site  of  Crockford's.  The  Cla- 
rence, the  Albion,  and  a  dozen  other  small  Clubs  have 
all  dissolved,  some  of  them  with  great  loss  to  the  mem- 
bers, and  the  Erectheum  and  Parthenon  thought  it 
prudent  to  join  their  forces  to  keep  the  wolf  from  the 
door." — New  Quarterly  Review. 


ANTIQUARIAN   CLUBS,— THE   NOVIO- 
MAGIANS. 

We  have  already  seen  how  the  more  convivially  dis- 
posed members  of  Learned  Societies  have,  from  time  to 
time,  formed  themselves  into  Clubs.  The  Royals  have 
done  so,  ab  initio.  The  Antiquaries  appear  to  have 
given  up  their  Club  and  their  Anniversary  Dinner  ;  but 
certain  of  the  Fellows,  resolving  not  to  remain  impransi, 
many  years  since,  formed  a  Club,  styled  "  Novioma- 
gians,"  from  the  identification  of  the  Roman  station  of 
Noviomagus  being  just  then  discovered,  or  rather 

"  Rif  e  and  celebrated  in  the  mouths 
Of  wisest  men." 

One  of  the  Club-founders  was  Mr.  A.  J.  Kempe ;  and 
Mr.  Crofton  Croker  was  president  more  than  twenty 
years.  Lord  Londesborough  and  Mr.  Corner, the  South  - 
wark  antiquary,  were  also  Noviomagians ;  and  in  the 
present  Club-list  are  Sir  William  Betham,  Mr.  Fairholt, 
Mr.  Godwin,  Mr.  S.  C.  Hall,  Mr.  Lemon,  etc.     The  Club 


THE   ECCENTRICS.  307 

dine  together  once  a  month  during  the  season  at  the  old 
tavern  next  the  burial-place  of  Joe  Miller  in  Portugal 
Street.  Here  the  Fellows  meet  for  the  promotion  of  good 
fellowship  and  antiquarian  pursuits.  "  Joking  minutes 
are  kept,  in  which  would  be  found  many  known  names, 
either  as  visitors  or  associates, — Theodore  Hook,  Sir 
Henry  Ellis,  Britton,  Dickens,  Thackeray,  John  Bruce, 
Jerdan,  Planche,  Bell,  Maclise,  etc."  The  Club  and  its 
visitors  may  have  caught  inspiration  here ;  for  in  their 
sallies  movere  jocum,  they  have  imitated  the  wits  at 
Strawberry  Hill,  and  found  Arms  for  the  Club,  with  a 
butter-boat  rampant  for  the  crest,  which  is  very  signifi- 
cant. 

In  1855,  Lord  Mayor  Moon,  F.S.A.,  entertained  at 
the  Mansion  House  the  Noviomagians,  and  the  office- 
bearers of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  to  meet  them. 
After  dinner,  some  short  papers  were  read,  including 
one  by  Mr.  Lemon,  of  the  State  Paper  Office,  presenting 
some  curious  illustrations  of  the  state  of  societv  in  Lon- 
don  in  the  reign  of  James  L,  showing  the  Migration  of 
Citizens  Westward."  (See  Romance  of  London,  vol.  iii. 
pp.  315-320.) 


THE  ECCENTRICS. 

Late  in  the  last  century  there  met  at  a  tavern  kept 
by  one  Fulham,  in  Chandos  Street,  Covent  Garden,  a 
convivial  Club  called  "  The  Eccentrics,"  which  was  an 
offshoot  of  t"  The  Brilliants."  They  next  removed  to 
Tom  Rees's,  in  May Vbuildings,  St.  Martinis-lane,  and 


308  CLUB   LIFE  OF  LONDON. 

here  they  were  flourishing  at  all  hours,  some  five-and- 
twenty  years  since.  Amongst  the  members  were  many 
celebrities  of  the  literary  and  political  world ;  they  were 
always  treated  with  indulgence  by  the  authorities.  An 
inaugural  ceremony  was  performed  upon  the  making  of 
a  member,  which  terminated  with  a  jubilation  from  the 
President.  The  books  of  the  Club  up  to  the  time  of  its 
removal  from  May's-buildings  are  stated  to  have  passed 
into  the  possession  of  Mr.  Lloyd,  the  hatter,  of  the 
Strand,  who,  by  the  way,  was  eccentric  in  his  business, 
and  published  a  small  work  descriptive  of  the  various 
fashions  of  hats  worn  in  his  time,  illustrated  with  cha- 
racteristic engravings. 

From  its  commencement  the  Eccentrics  are  said  to  have 
numbered  upwards  of  40,000  members,  many  of  them 
holding  high  social  position :  among  others,  Fox,  Sheri- 
dan, Lord  Melbourne,  and  Lord  Brougham.  On  the  same 
memorable  night  that  Sheridan  and  Lord  Petersham 
were  admitted,  Hook  was  also  enrolled;  and  through 
this  Club  membership,  Theodore  is  believed  to  have  ob- 
tained some  of  his  high  connexions.  In  a  novel,  pub- 
lished in  numbers,  some  five-and-twenty  years  since, 
the  author,  F.  W.  N.  Bayley,  sketched  with  graphic 
vigour  the  meetings  of  the  Eccentrics  at  the  old  tavern 
in  May^s- buildings. 


DOUGLAS   JERROLD'S   CLUBS. 

One  of  the  chapters  in  "  The  Life  and  Remains  of 
Douglas  Jerrold"  by  his  son,  Blanchard  Jerrold,  dis- 


DOUGLAS   JERROLD S    CLUBS.  309 

courses  most  pleasantly  of  the  several  Clubs  to  which 
Mr.  Jerrold  became  attached.  He  was  of  a  clubbable 
nature,  and  delighted  in  wit  combats  and  brilliant  re- 
partees, the  flash  of  which  was  perfectly  electric. 

In  this  very  agreeable  precis,  we  find  that  towards  the 
end  of  the  year  1824,  some  young  men  at  a  humble 
tavern,  the  Wrekin,  in  the  genial  neighbourhood  of 
Covent  Garden,  with  Shakspeare  as  their  common  idol ; 
and  "  it  was  a  regulation  of  this  Club  that  some  paper, 
or  poem,  or  conceit,  bearing  upon  Shakspeare,  should 
be  contributed  by  each  member.  Hither  came  Douglas 
Jerrold,  and  he  was  soon  joined  by  Laman  Blanchard. 
Upon  Jerrold's  suggestion,  the  Club  was  called  the 
Mulberries,  and  their  contributions  were  entitled  Mul- 
berry Leaves.  In  the  Club  were  William  Godwin ; 
Kenny  Meadows,  the  future  illustrator  of  Shakspeare ; 
W.  Elton,  the  Shakspearean  actor;  and  Edward  Chat- 
field,  the  artist.  Mr.  Jerrold  wrote,  in  the  Illuminated 
Magazine,  a  touching  memoir  of  the  Society — "that 
knot  of  wise  and  jocund  men,  then  unknown,  but  gaily 
struggling." 

The  Mulberry  Club  lived  many  years,  and  gathered  a 
valuable  crop  of  leaves — contributions  from  its  members. 
They  fell  into  Mr.  Elton's  hands,  and  are  now  in  the 
possession  of  his  family.  They  were  to  have  been  pub- 
lished, but  no  one  would  undertake  to  see  them  through 
the  press — an  office  which,  in  most  cases,  is  a  very  un- 
thankful one.  The  Club  did  not,  however,  die  easily : 
it  was  changed  and  grafted.  "In  times  nearer  the  pre- 
sent, when  it  was  called  the  Shakspeare  Club,  Charles 
Dickens,  Mr.  Justice  Talfourd,  Daniel  Maclise,  Mr. 
Macready,  Mr.  Frank  Stone,  etc.  belonged  to  it.  Re- 
spectability killed  it."     But  some  delightful  results  of 


310  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON. 

these  Mulberry  Club  meetings  are  embalmed  in  Mr. 
Jerrold's  Cakes  and  Ale,  and  their  life  reminds  one  of 
the  dancing  motes  in  the  latter.  Then  we  hear  of  other 
clubs — the  Gratis  and  the  Rationals,  of  which  Jerrold 
was  a  member. 

"  But,"  says  the  gentle  Memoir,  "  with  clubs  of  more 
recent  date,  with  the  Hooks  and  Eyes,  and  lastly,  with 
Our  Club,  Douglas  Jerrold's  name  is  most  intimately 
associated.  It  may  be  justly  said  that  he  was  the  life 
and  soul  of  these  three  gatherings  of  men.  His  arrival 
was  a  happy  moment  for  members  already  present. 
His  company  was  sought  with  wondrous  eagerness 
whenever  a  dinner  or  social  evening  was  contemplated ; 
for,  as  a  club  associate  said  of  him,  '  he  sparkled  when- 
ever you  touched  him,  like  the  sea  at  night/  A  writer  in 
the  Quarterly  Review  well  said  of  him :  ( In  the  bright 
sallies  of  conversational  wit  he  has  no  surviving  equal/ 

"  He  was  thus  greatly  acceptable  in  all  social  literary 
Clubs.  In  the  Museum  Club,  for  instance,  (an  attempt 
made  in  1847  to  establish  a  properly  modest  and  real 
literary  Club,)  he  was  unquestionably  the  member;  for 
he  was  the  most  clubbable  of  men."  When  members 
dropped  in,  sharp  shots  were  possibly  exchanged  :  here 
are  a  few  that  were  actually  fired  within  the  precincts  of 
the  Museum  Club — fired  carelessly,  and  forgotten : 

Jerrold  defined  dogmatism  as  "  puppyism  come  to 
maturity ;"  and  a  flaming  uxorious  epitaph  put  up  by  a 
famous  cook,  on  his  wife's  tomb,  as  "  mock  turtle."  A 
prosy  old  gentleman,  meeting  him  as  he  was  passing  at 
his  usual  quick  pace  along  Regent  Street,  poised  himself 
into  an  attitude,  and  began :  "  Well,  Jerrold,  my  dear 
boy,  what  is  going  on  ?" — "  I  am,"  said  the  wit,  in- 
stantly shooting  off. 


DOUGLAS   JEKKOLD'S    CLUBS.  311 

At  a  dinner  of  artists,  a  barrister  present,  having  his 
health  drunk  in  connexion  with  the  law,  began  an  em- 
barrassed answer  by  saying  he  did  not  see  how  the  law 
could  be  considered  one  of  the  arts,  when  Jerrold  jerked 
in  the  word  black,  and  threw  the  company  into  convul- 
sions. 

A  bore  remarking  how  charmed  he  was  with  a  certain 
opera,  and  that  there  was  one  particular  song  which 
always  carried  him  quite  away — "  Would  that  I  could 
sing  it !"  ejaculated  the  wit. 

A  dinner  is  discussed.  Douglas  Jerrold  listens  quietly, 
possibly  tired  of  dinners,  and  declining  pressing  invita- 
tions to  be  present.  In  a  few  minutes  he  will  chime  in, 
"  If  an  earthquake  were  to  engulf  England  to-morrow, 
the  English  would  manage  to  meet  and  dine  somewhere 
among  the  rubbish,  just  to  celebrate  the  event." 

A  friend  is  anxious  to  awaken  Mr.  Jerrold' s  sympa- 
thies in  behalf  of  a  mutual  acquaintance  who  is  in  want 
of  a  round  sum  of  money.  But  this  mutual  friend  has 
already  sent  his  hat  about  among  his  literary  brethren 

on  more  than  one  occasion.     Mr. 's  hat  is  becoming 

an  institution,  and  friends  were  grieved  at  the  inde- 
licacy of  the  proceeding.  On  the  above  occasion,  the 
bearer  of  the  hat  was  received  with  evident  dissatisfac- 
tion.    "  Well,"  said  Douglas  Jerrold,  "  how  much  does 

want  this  time?" — "Why,  just  a  four  and  two 

noughts  will,  I  think,  put  him  straight,"  the  bearer  of 
the  hat  replied.  Jerrold — "  Well,  put  me  down  for  one 
of  the  noughts." 

"The  Chain  of  Events,"  playing  at  the  Lyceum 
Theatre,  though  unsuccessful,  is  mentioned.  "  Humph  !" 
said  Douglas  Jerrold,  "  Vm  afraid  the  manager  will  find 
it  a  door-chain  strong  enough  to  keep  everybody  out 
of  the  house," — and  so  it  proved. 


312  CLUB    LIFE    OF   LONDON. 

Douglas  Jerrold  is  seriously  disappointed  with  a  cer- 
tain book  written  by  one  of  his  friends,  and  has  ex- 
pressed his  disappointment.     Friend — "  I    have   heard 

that  you  said was  the  worst  book  I  ever  wrote." 

Jerrold — "  No,  I  didn't ;  I  said  it  was  the  worst  book 
anybody  ever  wrote." 

A  supper  of  sheep's-heads  is  proposed,  and  presently 
served.  One  gentleman  present  is  particularly  enthu- 
siastic on  the  excellence  of  the  dish,  and,  as  he  throws 
down  his  knife  and  fork,  exclaims,  "  Well,  sheep's-heads 
for  ever,  say  I !"     Jerrold — "  There's  egotism  !" 

During  a  stormy  discussion,  a  gentleman  rises  to 
settle  the  matter  in  dispute.  Waving  his  hands  majes- 
tically over  the  excited  disputants,  he  begins  :  "  Gentle- 
men, all  I  want  is  common  sense." — "  Exactly,"  says 
Douglas  Jerrold,  "  that  is  precisely  what  you  do  want." 

But  the  Museum  Club  was  broken  up  by  troubled 
spirits.  Then  succeeded  the  Hooks  and  Eyes ;  then  the 
Club,  a  social  weekly  gathering,  which  Jerrold  attended 
only  three  weeks  before  his  death.  Hence  some  of  his 
best  sayings  went  forth. 

Jerrold  ordered  a  bottle  of  old  port;  "not  elder 
port,"  he  said. 

Walking  to  his  Club  with  a  friend  from  the  theatre, 
some  intoxicated  young  gentleman  reeled  up  to  the  dra- 
matist and  said,  "  Can  you  tell  me  the  way  to  the 
Judge  and  Jury  ?"  — "  Keep  on  as  you  are,  young  gentle- 
man," was  the  reply;  "you're  sure  to  overtake  them." 

Asking  about  the  talent  of  a  young  painter,  his  com- 
panion declared  that  the  youth  was  mediocre.  "  Oh  !" 
was  the  reply,  "  the  very  worst  ochre  an  artist  can  set 
to  work  with." 

"  The  laughing  hours,  when  these  poor  gatherings," 


CHESS    CLUBS.  313 

says  Mr.  Blanchard  Jerrold,  "  fell  from  the  well-loaded 
branch,  are  remembered  still  in  the  rooms  of  Our  Club ; 
and  the  hearty  laugh  still  echoes  there,  and  will,  it  is 
my  pride  to  believe,  always  live  in  the  memory  of  that 
genial  and  refined  circle." 

The  Whittington  Club  originated  in  1846,  with  Doug- 
las Jerrold,  who  became  its  first  President.  It  was  esta- 
blished at  the  Crown  and  Anchor  Tavern  in  the  Strand ; 
where,  in  the  ball-room,  hung  a  picture  of  Whittington 
listening  to  Bow-bells,  painted  by  Newenham,  and  pre- 
sented to  the  Club  by  the  President.  All  the  Club 
premises  were  destroyed  by  fire  in  1854;  the  picture 
was  not  saved,  but  fortunately  it  had  been  cleverly  en- 
graved. The  premises  have  been  rebuilt,  and  the  Club 
still  flourishes. 


CHESS   CLUBS. 

The  Clubs  in  various  parts  of  the  Metropolis  and  the 
suburbs,  where  Chess,  and  Chess  only,  forms  the  staple 
recreation  of  the  members,  are  numerous.  We  must, 
however,  confine  ourselves  to  the  historical  data  of  the 
early  Clubs,  which  record  the  introduction  of  the  noble 
game  in  the  Metropolis. 

In  1747,  the  principal  if  not  the  only  Chess-Club  in 
the  Metropolis  met  at  Slaughter's  Coffee-house,  St. 
MartinVlane.  The  leading  players  of  this  Club  were — 
Sir  Abraham  Janssen,  Philip  Stamma  (from  Aleppo), 
Lord  Godolphin,  Lord  Sunderland,  and  Lord  Elibank; 
Cunningham,  the  historian ;  Dr.  Black  and  Dr.  Cowper ; 


314  CLUB    LIFE    OF   LONDON. 

and  it  was  through  their  invitation  that  the  celebrated 
Philidor  was  induced  to  visit  England. 

Another  Club  was  shortly  afterwards  founded  at  the 
Salopian  Coffee-house,  Charing  Cross :  and  a  few  years 
later,  a  third,  which  met  next  door  to  the  Thatched 
House  Tavern,  in  St.  Jameses-street.  It  was  here  that 
Philidor  exhibited  his  wonderful  faculty  for  playing 
blindfold ;  some  instances  of  which  we  find  in  the  news- 
papers of  the  period  : — 

"  Yesterday,  at  the  Chess-Club  in  St.  James's-street, 
Monsieur  Philidor  performed  one  of  those  wonderful 
exhibitions  for  which  he  is  so  much  celebrated.  He 
played  three  different  games  at  once  without  seeing  either 
of  the  tables.  His  opponents  were  Count  Bruhl  and 
Mr.  Bowdler  (the  two  best  players  in  London),  and  Mr. 
Maseres.  He  defeated  Count  Bruhl  in  one  hour  and 
twenty  minutes,  and  Mr.  Maseres  in  two  hours;  Mr. 
Bowdler  reduced  his  games  to  a  drawn  battle  in  one 
hour  and  three-quarters.  To  those  who  understand 
Chess,  this  exertion  of  M.  Philidor' s  abilities  must  ap- 
pear one  of  the  greatest  of  which  the  human  memory  is 
susceptible.  He  goes  through  it  with  astonishing  ac- 
curacy, and  often  corrects  mistakes  in  those  who  have 
the  board  before  them." 

In  1795,  the  veteran,  then  nearly  seventy  years  of 
age,  played  three  blindfold  matches  in  public.     The  last 
of  these,  which  came  off  shortly  before  his  death,  we  find 
announced  in  the  daily  newspapers  thus  : — 
"Chess-Club,  1795.     Parsloe's,  St.  James's  Street. 

"  By  particular  desire,  Moris.  Philidor,  positively  for 
the  last  time,  will  play  on  Saturday,  the  20th  of  June, 
at  two  o'clock  precisely,  three  games  at  once  against 
three  good  players ;  two  of  them  without  seeing  either 


CHESS    CLUBS.  315 

of  the  boards,  and  the  third  looking  over  the  table.  He 
most  respectfully  invites  all  the  members  of  the  Chess- 
Club  to  honour  him  with  their  presence.  Ladies  and 
gentlemen  not  belonging  to  the  Club  may  be  provided 
with  tickets  at  the  above-mentioned  house,  to  see  the 
match,  at  five  shillings  each." 

Upon  the  death  of  Philidor,  the  Chess-Clubs  at  the 
West-end  seem  to  have  declined;  and  in  1807,  the 
stronghold  and  rallying-point  for  the  lovers  of  the  game 
was  "  The  London  Chess- Club,"  which  was  established 
in  the  City,  and  for  many  years  held  its  meetings  at 
Tom's  Coffee-house,  in  Cornhill.  To  this  Club  we  are 
indebted  for  many  of  the  finest  chess-players  of  the  age. 

About  the  year  1833,  a  Club  was  founded  by  a  few 
amateurs  in  Bedford-street,  Covent  Garden.  This  esta- 
blishment, which  obtained  remarkable  celebrity  as  the 
arena  of  the  famous  contests  between  La  Bourdonnais 
and  McDonnell,  was  dissolved  in  1840;  but  shortly  after- 
wards, through  the  exertions  of  Mr.  Staunton,  was  re- 
formed under  the  name  of  the  "  St.  George's  Club,"  in 
Cavendish-square. 


316 


APPENDIX. 


ALMACK'S. 

(Page  86.) 

Captain  Gronow,  writing  in  1814,  says  :  "  At  the  pre- 
sent time,  one  can  hardly  conceive  the  importance  which 
was  attached  to  getting  admission  to  Almack's,  the 
seventh  heaven  of  the  fashionable  world."  Of  the  three 
hundred  officers  of  the  Foot  Guards,  not  more  than  half- 
a-dozen  were  honoured  with  vouchers  of  admission  to 
this  exclusive  temple  of  the  beau  monde ;  the  gates  of 
which  were  guarded  by  lady  patronesses,  whose  smiles 
or  frowns  consigned  men  and  women  to  happiness  or 
despair.  These  lady  patronesses  were  the  Ladies  Castle- 
reagh,  Jersey,  Cowper,  and  Sefton;  Mrs.  Drummond 
Burrell,  now  Lady  Willoughby ;  the  Princess  Esterhazy, 
and  the  Countess  Lieven. 

"The  most  popular  amongst  these  grandes  dames 
were  unquestionably  Lady  Cowper,  now  Lady  Palmer- 
ston.  Lady  Jersey's  bearing,  on  the  contrary,  was  that 
of  a  theatrical  tragedy  queen  :  and  whilst  attempting  the 
sublime,  she  frequently  made  herself  simply  ridiculous, 
being  inconceivably  rude,  and  in  her  manner  often  ill- 


ALMACK'S.  317 

bred.  Lady  Sefton  was  kind  and  amiable ;  Madame  de 
Lieven  haughty  and  exclusive ;  Princess  Esterhazy  was  a 
bon  enfant ;  Lady  Castlereagh  and  Miss  Burrell,  de  tres 
grandes  dames. 

"  Many  diplomatic  arts,  much  finesse,  and  a  host  of 
intrigues,  were  set  in  motion  to  get  an  invitation  to 
Almack's.  Very  often  persons,  whose  rank  and  fortunes 
entitled  them  to  the  entree  anywhere,  were  excluded  by 
the  cliqueism  of  the  lady  patronesses;  for  the  female 
government  of  Almack's  was  a  pure  despotism,  and  sub- 
ject to  all  the  caprices  of  despotic  rule :  it  is  needless  to 
add  that,  like  every  other  despotism,  it  was  not  innocent 
of  abuses.  The  fair  ladies  who  ruled  supreme  over  this 
little  dancing  and  gossiping  world,  issued  a  solemn  pro- 
clamation, that  no  gentleman  should  appear  at  the  as- 
semblies without  being  dressed  in  knee-breeches,  white 
cravat,  and  chapeau  bras.  On  one  occasion,  the  Duke 
of  Wellington  was  about  to  ascend  the  staircase  of  the 
ball-room,  dressed  in  black  trousers,  when  the  vigilant 
Mr.  Willis,  the  guardian  of  the  establishment,  stepped 
forward  and  said,  'Your  Grace  cannot  be  admitted  in 
trousers ; '  whereupon  the  Duke,  who  had  a  great  respect 
for  orders  and  regulations,  quietly  walked  away. 

"In  1814,  the  dances  at  Almack^s  were  Scotch  reels, 
and  the  old  English  country-dance ;  the  orchestra,  being 
from  Edinburgh,  was  conducted  by  the  then  celebrated 
Neil  Gow.  In  1815,  Lady  Jersey  introduced  from 
Paris  the  favourite  quadrille.  The  persons  who  formed 
the  very  first  quadrille  that  was  ever  danced  at  Almack's 
were  Lady  Jersey,  Lady  Harriett  Butler,  Lady  Susan 
Ryder,  and  Miss  Montgomery ;  the  men  being  the  Count 
St.  Aldegonde,  Mr.  Montgomery,  Mr.  Montague,  and 
Charles  Standish.     The  mazy  waltz  was  also  brought  to 


318  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON. 

us  about  this  time;  but  there  were  comparatively  few 
who  at  first  ventured  to  whirl  round  the  salons  of  Al- 
mack's ;  in  course  of  time  Lord  Palmerston  might,  how- 
ever, have  been  seen  describing  an  infinite  number  of 
circles  with  Madame  de  Lieven.  Baron  de  Neumann 
was  frequently  seen  perpetually  turning  with  the  Princess 
Esterhazy ;  and  in  course  of  time,  the  waltzing  mania, 
having  turned  the  heads  of  society  generally,  descended 
to  their  feet,  and  the  waltz  was  practised  in  the  morning 
in  certain  noble  mansions  in  London  with  unparalleled 
assiduity." — Abridged  from  the  Reminiscences  of  Captain 
Gronow,  1862. 


CLUBS  AT  THE  THATCHED  HOUSE. 

Mr.  Willis  took  this  tavern  from  Mr.  Freere,  about 
1755;  and,  as  a  relative  of  Mr.  Almack,  afterwards 
succeeded  to  the  celebrated  assembly-rooms  which  bore 
his  name.  "  If  the  old  saw,  that  ( practice  makes  per- 
fect/ writes  Admiral  Smyth,  be  correct,  the  cuisinerie 
of  the  Thatched  House  ought  to  surpass  that  of  all 
others ;  for  besides  accidental  parties  and  visitors,  the 
Messrs  Willis  ably  entertain  the  following  Societies  and 
Clubs  :   [this  was  written  in  I860.] 

Actuaries,  Institute  of.  Geological  Club. 

Catch  Club.  Linnsean  Club. 

Club,  Johnson's.  Literary  Society. 

Cornish  Club.  Navy  Club. 

Dilettanti  Society.  Philosophical  Club. 

Farmers'  Club.  Physicians,  College  of,  Club. 

Geographical  Club.  Political  Economy  Club. 


THE  KIT-KAT   CLUB. 


3]  9 


Royal  Academy  Club. 
Royal  Astronomical  Club. 
Royal  Institution  Club. 
Royal  London  Yacht  Club. 
Royal  Naval  Club,  (1765). 
Royal  Society  Club. 
St.  Albans  Medical  Club. 


St.    Bartholomew's    Contempo- 
raries. 
Star  Club. 
Statistical  Club. 
Sussex  Club. 
Union  Society,  St.  James's. 


And  they  moreover  accommodate  the  following  Masonic 
Lodges  : — 


Friendship. 

Prince  of  Wales's. 

Middlesex. 

Chapter  of  Friendship. 

Chapter  of  Prince  of  Wales's. 


Mount  Mosiah  Chapter. 
Castle  Lodge  of  Harmony. 
The  Knights  Templars. 
Britannic  Lodge. 


THE   KIT-KAT   CLUB. 

(Page  62.) 

Charles  Dartiquenane,  better  known  by  the  abbre- 
viated name  of  Dartineuf,  was  the  intimate  friend  and 
associate  of  Swift,  Steele,  and  Addison,  and  a  member  of 
the  Kit-Kat  Club.  He  was  not  only  famous  as  an  epi- 
cure, but  as  a  punster.  He  is  said  to  have  been  a  con- 
tributor to  the  Tatler,  though  his  papers  cannot  now  be 
ascertained.     Pope,  in  his  Epistles,  has  : 

"  Each  mortal  has  his  pleasure,  none  deny — 
Scarsdale  his  bottle,  Darty  his  Ham  Pie. 

Hard  task  to  suit  the  palate  of  such  guests, 
When  Oldfield  loves  what  Dartineuf  detests. 


320  CLUB    LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

Lord  Lyttelton  has  a  Dialogue  in  the  Shades  between' 
Dartineuf  and  Apicius,  on  good  eating,  in  which  ham 
pie  is  stated  to  have  been  the  favourite  dainty  of  the 
former.  Darty  died  in  1737,  and  is  stated  to  have  left 
the  receipt  for  his  favourite  pie  with  an  old  lady,  who 
transferred  it  to  Dr.  Kitchiner.  (See  his  Housekeeper's 
Oracle,  1829,  p.  249.) 


WATIER'S   CLUB. 

(Page  168.) 

Captain  Gronow  also  relates  the  following  account  of 
the  origin  of  this  noted  but  short-lived  Club  : — 

Upon  one  occasion,  some  gentlemen  of  both  White's 
and  Brookes' s  had  the  honour  to  dine  with  the  Prince 
Regent,  and  during  the  conversation,  the  Prince  inquired 
what  sort  of  dinners  they  got  at  their  Clubs;  upon  which 
Sir  Thomas  Stepney,  one  of  the  guests,  observed  "  that 
their  dinners  were  always  the  same,  the  eternal  joints 
or  beef-steaks,  the  boiled  fowl  with  oyster  sauce,  and  an 
apple-tart ;  this  is  what  we  have  at  our  Clubs,  and  very 
monotonous  fare  it  is."  The  Prince,  without  further 
remark,  rang  the  bell  for  his  cook  Watier,  and  in  the 
presence  of  those  who  dined  at  the  Royal  table,  asked 
him  whether  he  would  take  a  house,  and  organize  a 
dinner-club.  Watier  assented,  and  named  Madison, 
the  Prince's  page,  manager;  and  Labourie,  the  cook, 
from  the  Royal  kitchen.  The  Club  flourished  only  a 
few  years,  owing  to  the  night-play  that  was  carried  on 
there.     The   Duke  of  York   patronized  it,  and  was   a 


CLUBS   OF  1814.  321 

member.  The  dinners  were  exquisite :  the  best  Parisian 
cooks  could  not  beat  Labourie.  The  favourite  game 
played  there  was  Macao.  Upon  one  occasion,  Jack 
Bouverie,  brother  of  Lord  IIlj  tmubiiuy,  was  losing  large 
sums,  and  became  very  irritable.  Raikes,  with  bad  taste, 
laughed  at  Bouverie,  and  attempted  to  amuse  the  com- 
pany with  some  of  his  stale  jokes ;  upon  which  Bouverie 
threw  his  play-bowl,  with  the  few  counters  it  contained, 
at  Raikes'shead  ;  unfortunately,  it  struck  him,  and  made 
the  City  dandy  angry,  but  no  serious  results  followed 
this  open  insult. 


CLUBS  OP  1814. 

Captain  Gronow,  in  his  very  entertaining  Anecdotes 
and  Reminiscences,  gives  these  details  of  the  Clubs  of 
the  above  period  : — 

"  The  members  of  the  Clubs  in  London,  many  years 
since,  were  persons,  almost  without  exception,  belonging 
exclusively  to  the  aristocratic  world.  '  My  tradesmen/  as 
King  Allen  used  to  call  the  bankers  and  the  merchants, 
had  not  then  invaded  White's,  Boodle's,  Brookes' s ; 
or  Watier's,  in  Bolton-street,  Piccadilly;  which,  with 
the  Guards,  Arthur's,  and  Graham's,  were  the  only  Clubs 
at  the  West  End  of  the  town.  White's  was  decidedly 
the  most  difficult  of  entry;  its  list  of  members  com- 
prised  nearly  all  the  noble  names  of  Great  Britain. 

"The  politics  of  White's  Club  were  then  decidedly 
Tory.  It  was  here  that  play  was  carried  on  to  such  an 
extent  that  made  many  ravages  in  large  fortunes,  the 
traces  of  which  have  not  disappeared  at  the  present  day. 

Y 

VOL.  I. 


322  CLUB  LIFE   OF  LONDON. 

General  Scott,  the  father-in-law  of  George  Canning  and 
the  Duke  of  Portland,  was  known  to  have  won  at  White's 
200,000/. ;  thanks  to  his  notorious  sobriety  and  know- 
ledge of  the  game  of  whist.  The  General  possessed  a 
great  advantage  over  his  companions  by  avoiding  those 
indulgences  at  the  table  which  used  to  muddle  other 
men's  brains.  He  confined  himself  to  dining  off  some- 
thing like  a  boiled  chicken,  with  toast-and-water  :  by 
such  a  regimen  he  came  to  the  whist-table  with  a  clear 
head ;  and,  possessing,  as  he  did,  a  remarkable  memory, 
with  great  coolness  and  judgment,  he  was  able  honestly 
to  win  the  enormous  sum  of  200,000/. 

"At  Brookes's,  for  nearly  half  a  century,  the  play 
was  of  a  more  gambling  character  than  at  White's.  .  .  . 
On  one  occasion  Lord  Robert  Spencer  contrived  to  lose 
the  last  shilling  of  his  considerable  fortune  given  him 
by  his  brother,  the  Duke  of  Marlborough.  General 
Fitzpatrick  being  much  in  the  same  condition,  they 
agreed  to  raise  a  sum  of  money,  in  order  that  they 
might  keep  a  faro-bank.  The  members  of  the  Club 
made  no  objection,  and  ere  long  they  carried  out  their 
design.  As  is  generally  the  case,  the  bank  was  a  winner, 
and  Lord  Robert  bagged,  as  his  share  of  the  proceeds, 
100,000/.  He  retired,  strange  to  say,  from  the  foetid 
atmosphere  of  play,  with  the  money  in  his  pocket,  and 
never  again  gambled.  George  Harley  Drummond,  of 
the  famous  banking-house,  Charing  Cross,  only  played 
once  in  his  whole  life  at  White's  Club  at  whist,  on 
which  occasion  he  lost  20,000/.  to  Brummell.  This 
even  caused  him  to  retire  from  the  banking-house,  of 
which  he  was  a  partner. 

Arthur's  and  Graham's  were  less  aristocratic  than  those 
Clubs  I  have  mentioned.     It  was  at  the  latter  place, 


GAMING-HOUSES   KEPT  BY  LADIES.  323 

in  1832,  that  a  most  painful  circumstance  took  place. 
A  nobleman  of  the  highest  position  and  influence  in  so- 
ciety, was  detected  in  cheating  at  cards,  and  after  a  trial, 
which  did  not  terminate  in  his  favour,  he  died  of  a 
broken  heart. 


GAMING-HOUSES   KEPT   BY   LADIES. 

The  following  curious  piece  of  evidence,  probably  an 
extract  from  the  Journals  of  the  House  of  Lords,  al- 
though there  is  no  reference  to  the  subject  in  the  pub- 
lished "  Parliamentary  Debates,"  was  found  not  long 
since  by  the  Editor  of  the  Athenceum  amongst  a  mass  of 
contemporary  MSS.  : — 

"  Die  Lunse,  29°  Aprilis,  1745.— Gaming. — A  Bill 
for  preventing  the  excessive  and  deceitful  use  of  it  having 
been  brought  from  the  Commons,  and  proceeded  on  so 
far  as  to  be  agreed  to  in  a  Committee  of  the  whole 
House  with  amendments, — information  was  given  to 
the  House  that  Mr.  Burdus,  Chairman  of  the, Quarter 
Session  for  the  city  and  liberty  of  Westminster,  Sir 
Thomas  de  Veil,  and  Mr.  Lane,  Chairman  of  the  Quar- 
ter Sessions  for  the  county  of  Middlesex,  were  at  the 
door  ;  they  were  called  in,  and  at  the  Bar  severally  gave 
an  account  that  claims  of  privilege  of  Peerage  were 
made  and  in&isted  on  by  the  Ladies  Mordington  and 
Cassillis,  in  order  to  intimidate  the  peace  officers  from 
doing  their  duty  in  suppressing  the  public  gaming- 
houses kept  by  the  said  ladies.  And  the  said  Burdus 
thereupon  delivered  in  an  instrument  in  writing  under 


324  CLUB   LIFE   OF   LONDON. 

the  hand  of  the  said  Lady  Mordington,  containing  the 
claim  she  made  of  privilege  for  her  officers  and  servants 
employed  by  her  in  her  said  gaming-house. — And  then 
they  were  directed  to  withdraw. — And  the  said  instru- 
ment was  read  as  follows  : — '  I,  Dame  Mary,  Baroness 
of  Mordington,  do  hold  a  house  in  the  Great  Piazza, 
Covent  Garden,  for  and  as  an  Assembly,  where  all  per- 
sons of  credit  are  at  liberty  to  frequent  and  play  at  such 
diversions  as  are  used  at  other  Assembly s.  And  I  have 
hired  Joseph  Dewberry,  William  Horsely,  Ham  Cropper, 
and  George  Sanders  as  my  servants  or  managers  (under 
me)  thereof.  I  have  given  them  orders  to  direct  the  ma- 
nagement of  the  other  inferior  servants,  (namely)  John 
Bright,  Richard  Davids,  John  Hill,  John  Yandenvoren,  as 
box-keepers, — Gilbert  Richardson,  housekeeper,  John 
Chaplain,  regulator,  William  Stanley  and  Henry  Huggins, 
servants  that  wait  on  the  company  as  the  said  Assembly, 
William  Penny  and  Joseph  Penny  as  porters  thereof — 
And  all  the  above-mentioned  persons  I  claim  as  my  do- 
mestick  servants,  and  demand  all  those  privileges  that 
belong  to  me  as  a  peeress  of  Great  Britain  appertaining 
to  my  said  Assembly. — M.  Mordington. — Dated  8th 
Jan.  1744/ — Resolved  and  declared  that  no  person  is 
entitled  to  privilege  of  Peerage  against  any  prosecution 
or  proceeding  for  keeping  any  public  or  common  gaming- 
house, or  any  house,  room,  or  place  for  playing  at  any 
game  or  games  prohibited  by  any  law  now  in  force." 


END    OF   VOL.    I. 


PBINTED    3Y  J.    E.    TATLOE,   LITTLE   QUEEN   STBEET,    HOLBOKN. 


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BRIGHAM  YOUNG  UNIVERSITY 


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i  1  j        DEMCO  38-297                                                                                            Jt